I  ‘Ww*  J  1  1  ■*  k! 


* 

r  : 


0t  ®*  9Ucobgimt  * 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


Presented  by  cScArn&S  VYAC/\A)  \\\\  , 

.  li 

BT  1101  . C44  1850  v.2 
Chalmers,  Thomas,  1780-1847 
On  the  miraculous  and 
internal  evidences  of  the 


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si 


■ 


A 


>■«  • 


. 


ON  THE 


EVIDENCES 


OF  THE 

CHRISTIAN  REVELATION; 

AND  THE 

AUTHORITY  OF  ITS  RECORDS. 


BY  ' 

THOMAS  CHALMERS,  D.D.  &  LL.  D. 

PROFESSOR  OF  THEOLOGY  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  EDINBURGH, 
AND  CORRESPONDING  MEMBER  OF  THE  ROYAI.  INSTITUTE  OF  FRANCS. 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 

VOL  II. 


NEW  YORK: 

ROB  E  R  T  CARTER  &,  B  R'O  T  II  E  R  S ,  / 

X  o .  2  8  5  B  R  0  A  D  W  A  Y. 


1850. 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK  III. 

3N  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


fUl 

7 


Chap.  1.  On  the  Consistency  of  Scripture  with  itself  and 
with  Contemporary  Authorship,  .... 

U.  On  the  Moral  Evidence  for  the  Truth  of  the  New 

Testament, .  ^g 

CL  On  the  Experimental  Evidence  for  the  Truth  of 

Christianity, .  gj 

^7.  On  the  portable  Character  of  the  Evidence  for 
the  Truth  of  Christianity, . . 


BOOK  IV. 

on  THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  JEWISH  AND  CHRISTIAN  REVELATION,  AND 
THE  DEGREE  OF  AUTHORITY  WHICH  BELONGS  TO  THEM. 

Chap.  I.  On  the  Canon  of  Scripture ;  and,  more  especially, 

of  the  Old  Testament,  .  .  .  .  .  #  21.3 

Aft 

II.  On  the  Inspiration  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 

ments,  •  #  ,  ••••••#  343 

III.  On  the  Internal  Evidence  as  a  Criterion  for  the 

Canon  and  Inspiration  of  Scripture,  ...  397 

IV.  On  the  Supreme  Authority  of  Revelation,  .  .  432 


BOOK  III. 


ON  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OF 
CHRISTIANITY. 


CHAP.  I. 

On  the  Consistency  of  Scripture  with  itself  and 
with  contemporary  Authorship . 

I .  It  is  not  at  all  times  possible  to  obtain  a  precise 
adjustment  between  the  actual  state  of  things  in 
nature,  and  the  definitions  of  our  own  artificial 
philosophy.  There  are  often  certain  rebellious 
and  intractable  phenomena,  which  do  not  full/  and 
properly  belong  either  to  one  division  or  another; 
and,  just  from  the  impossibility  of  an  exact  classi¬ 
fication,  we  fail  in  our  attempts,  completely  to 
accommodate  our  schemes  of  universal  science  to 
the  scheme  of  the  existent  universe.  The  line  of 
demarcation  between  cognate  subjects  and  cognate 
sciences,  is  often  obscured  by  things  of  a  common 
or  ambiguous  character,  which  partially  belong  to 
each,  but  fully  belong  to  neither.  Thus,  for 
example,  there  are  certain  anomalies  which  serve 
to  obliterate  somewhat  the  distinction  between  the 
animal  and  the  vegetable  kingdom.  Thus  too, 
there  is  a  midway — a  debateable  ground  between 


8 


CONSISTENCY  OP  SCRIPTURE. 


the  sciences  of  chemistry  and  natural  philosophy. 
There  are  many  other  instances  which  might  be 
specified— all  serving  to  show  that  it  is  not  by  an 
immediate  transition  that  we  pass  from  one  branch 
of  philosophy  to  another.  There  is  what  painters 
would  call  a  shading  off  between  them.  They  do 
not  pass  instanter  into  each  other  by  lines,  the  ma¬ 
thematical  definition  of  which  is  length  without 
breadth.  But  they  melt  into  each  other  by  stripes 
or  margins  of  separation,  across  which  intermediate 
boundary,  the  colour  or  character  of  the  one  region 
gradually  dies  away,  till  it  fully  emerges  into  the 
distinct  colour  and  character  of  the  other  region. 

2.  What  has  suggested  these  observations  is, 
that,  in  attempting  to  distinguish  the  internal  from 
the  external  evidences  of  Christianity,  we  perceive 
the  same  sort  of  hazy  undefined  border  between 
them,  that  there  is  between  so  many  of  the  other 
contiguous  provinces  of  human  thought.  The  two 
kinds  of  evidence,  in  fact,  run  very  much  into  each 
other.  If  it  be  meant  of  the  external  evidences 
for  the  truth  of  the  Bible,  that  they  are  such  as 
are  gathered  from  places  without  the  book,  and  of 
the  internal  that  they  are  gathered  from  places 
within  the  book,  it  will  be  found  of  its  largest  and 
strongest  evidence,  that  it  comes  not  properly  or 
fully  under  either  the  one  head  or  the  other.  We 
scarcely  know  of  any  evidence  purely  external,  but 
that  which  lies  in  the  testimonies  of  writers  not 
sciiptural,  to  the  existence  and  the  authority  and 
the  eailv  date  and  the  reputed  writers  of  scripture. 
And  we  scarcely  know  of  any  evidence  purely  in¬ 
ternal,  but  that  which  is  founded  on  the  consistency 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  9 

of  scripture  with  itself,  on  the  characteristics  of 
honesty  which  may  be  more  or  less  obviously  dis¬ 
cerned  in  it,  and  perhaps  on  the  pure  and  right 
morality  whether  of  its  sentiments  or  precepts. 
It  will  be  found  of  most  other  evidence  that,  instead 
of  being  drawn  exclusively  from  either  that  which 
is  without  or  that  which  is  within  the  Bible,  it  is 
in  fact  elicited  by  the  comparison  of  the  one  with 
the  other.  In  estimating  the  force  of  the  argu¬ 
ment,  for  example,  founded  on  the  references  of 
the  early  fathers  to  scripture,  and  even  on  their 
testimonies  to  the  miracles  which  are  recorded 
there,  there  is  the  comparison  of  that  which  is  said 
out  of  the  Bible,  with  that  which  is  said  in  it;  and 
the  mind  must  have  respect  to  the  contents  of  the 
book,  when  attending  to  the  credentials  by  which 
they  are  thus  verified.  Again,  when  a  credibility 
is  founded.on  the  accordance  which  there  is  between 
the  Bible  and  history,  in  those  numerous  allusions 
which  it  makes  to  the  state  and  customs  and  various 

circumstances  of  the  age  in  which  it  was  written _ 

this  too,  though  perhaps  commonly  ranking  as  an 
internal  evidence,  pre-supposes  a  comparison 
between  that  which  is  within  and  that  which  is 
without  the  record.  Even  that  credibility  so  com¬ 
monly  spoken  of  as  internal,  which  is  drawn  from 
the  accordance  of  Bible  statements  with  the  felt 
state  of  man  and  of  all  his  moral  and  spiritual 
necessities,  rests  on  the  comparison  of  the  scriptural 
with  the  ex-scriptural — of  that  which  is  graven  on 
the  tablet  of  revelation,  with  that  which  is  graven 
on  the  tablet  of  the  human  heart.  The  evidence 
too  that  lies  in  the  suitable  representations  which 

\  2 


10 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


the  Bible  gives  of  the  character  and  ways  of  God, 
requires  that  we  should  look  not  only  to  that  which 
is  in  the  book,  but  also  to  that  which  is  separate 
from  the  book;  to  compare  the  notions  of  God 
which  are  drawn  purely  from  revelation,  with  the 
notions  which  are  drawn  from  other  sources  of 
human  opinion  or  knowledge.  Notwithstanding 
the  current  and  familiar  style  in  which  we  talk  of 
external  and  internal  evidences  for  the  truth  of 
revelation,  as  if  we  perfectly  understood  what  we 
were  saying,  there  is  a  real  difficulty  in  tracing  the 
precise  line  of  demarcation  between  them. 

3.  But  we  are  not  bound  to  task  ourselves  with 
the  labour  of  bringing  about  an  adjustment  between 
the  real  state  of  the  case  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
arbitrary  names  or  distinctions  which  our  predeces¬ 
sors  may  have  devised  in  the  work  of  investigating 
it.  Yet,  in  vindication  of  the  title  which  we  have 
prefixed  to  this  book,  it  will  be  necessary  to  explain 
in  what  sense  the  various  matters  discussed  in  it 
should  be  brought  within  the  department  of  the 
internal  evidences.  They  all  agree  in  this,  that 
they  have  respect  to  the  subject-matter  of  the 
Bible;  but  to  a  great  deal  more  regarding  this 
subject-matter,  than  to  the  consistency  of  its  vari¬ 
ous  parts  with  each  other.  Beside  this,  we  found 
an  argument  on  the  consistency  of  that  which  is 
within  the  record,  with  that  which  is  external  to 
the  record — of  which  last,  however,  it  is  necessary 
that  we  should  have  the  distinct  and  independent 
knowledge.  There  may  be  a  perfect  consistency 
between  what  the  Bible  tells  us  of  angels,  and  what 
is  objectively  or  externally  true  in  regard  to  them 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


ll 


But  we  have  no  independent  knowledge  of  this 
order  of  beings,  and  can  found  no  evidence  there¬ 
fore  on  this  information  of  the  Bible — to  which  our 
only  access  is  through  the  pages  of  the  Bible  itself. 
Whenever  an  evidence  is  founded  on  the  harmony 
which  obtains,  between  the  depositions  of  scripture 
respecting  certain  things  and  the  actual  state  of 
these  things,  we  must  have  other  means  by  which 
we  know  of  these  things  than  scripture  itself ;  and 
so  the  argument  is  made  to  rest  on  the  coincidence 
which  obtains  between  the  statements  of  the  Bible, 
and  what  we  know  of  the  truth  of  these  statements 
from  other  sources.  Yet  one  of  these  sources  must 
be  excepted,  else  we  shall  lose  the  distinction 
between  the  internal  and  the  external  evidences. 
The  Bible  announces  to  us  its  own  miracles,  beside 
furnishing  us  with  certain  traces  both  of  its  own 
antiquity,  and  of  the  authors  by  whom  it  was 
penned.  Its  testimony  in  these  matters  is  corro¬ 
borated  by  the  testimony  of  other  and  ex-scriptural 
authors ;  and  the  strength  of  this  latter  testimony 
forms  the  main  strength  of  the  external  evidence 
for  the  truth  of  the  Christian  revelation.  Let  us 
exclude  this,  and  there  remains  an  internal  evidence 
• — a  great  part  of  which  is  grounded,  like  the  exter¬ 
nal,  on  a  comparison  between  what  we  learn  in  the 
Bible,  and  what  we  know  apart  from  the  Bible ;  yet 
distinguished  from  the  external,  in  that  the  know¬ 
ledge  is  ours  through  another  medium  than  the 
testimony  of  authors,  ’deponing  historically,  either 
to  the  antiquity  and  genuineness  and  reception  of 
tb e  Bible,  or  to  those  miracles  which  constitute  the 
firv3t  and  most  palpable  vouchers  for  its  authority. 


12 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


Our  knowledge  of  God,  our  knowledge  of  the 
morally  right  and  wrong,  our  knowledge  of  our 
own  hearts,  our  knowledge  even  of  human  life  and 
character  as  grounded  chiefly  on  personal  observa¬ 
tion,  are  all  otherwise  derived  than  from  the  testimony 
of  historians ;  and  on  the  consistency  between  all 
this  knowledge  and  the  subject-matter  of  the  bible, 
there  is  founded  a  great  part  of  what  is  commonly 
recognised  as  internal  evidence.  It  seems  in  most 
instances  to  receive  this  appellation  of  internal, 
when  the  subject-matter  of  the  Bible  is  brought 
immediately  to  the  tribunal  of  a  man’s  own  sense 
and  a  man’s  own  judgment — whether  it  is  to  the 
light  of  conscience  and  consciousness,  or  to  the 
light  of  a  well-exercised  discernment  into  human 
character  and  affairs.  Were  we  to  avail  ourselves 
of  the  distinction  here  between  the  truths  of  in¬ 
struction  and  those  of  information,  we  should  say  of 
all  the  argument  which  is  founded  on  the  harmony 
between  scripture  and  the  former  class  of  truths, 
that  it  belongs  to  the  department  of  the  internal 
— whereas  when  founded  on  the  harmony  between 
scripture  and  the  latter  class  of  truths,  it  belongs 
to  the  department  of  the  external  evidences.  Yet 
such  is  the  difficulty  of  framing  an  unexceptionable 
definition  on  this  subject,  that,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  agreement  between  the  subject-matter  of  the 
Bible  and  the  informations  of  Josephus  and  other 
Jewish  or  profane  authors,  is  referred  to  the  head 
of  the  internal  evidences  ;  and  on  the  other  hand, 
though  a  stronger  argument  for  the  miracles  of  the 
New  Testament  may  be  gathered,  as  wre  have 
abundantly  endeavoured  to  show,  from  within  than 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


13 


from  without  the  canon,  from  the  original  testimony 
of  scriptural  than  from  the  subsequent  testimony 
of  ex-scriptural  writers — yet  is  the  whole  of  this 
argument  referred  to  the  department  of  the  exter¬ 
nal  evidences. 

4.  But  whether  we  succeed  or  not  in  this  work 
of  classification,  it  does  not  affect  the  substantive 
reality  and  strength  of  the  various  branches  of 
evidence,  however  they  may  have  been  grouped 
when  we  view  them  separately.  There  is  however 
one  general  remark  applicable  to  almost  all  the 
evidence  for  Christianity,  and  which  we  are  un¬ 
willing  to  pass  over.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
defenders  of  Christianity  have  often  been  led  to 
certain  walks  of  argument  and  investigation,  on 
which  they  might  not  otherwise  have  entered  by 
'some  hostile  assault  or  other  of  the  enemies  of  the 
faith.  When  a  combatant  has  pointed  the  finger 
of  scorn  to  some  alleged  weakness ;  some  vulnerable 
quarter,  whether  in  the  outworks  or  in  the  substance 
itself  of  Christianity — it  has  often  ended  with  the 
counter-demonstration  of  a  strength  in  that  very 
quarter,  of  which  neither  the  church  nor  the  public 
had  any  conception  before.  The  objection  of 
adversaries  first  drew  to  it  the  attention  of  friends  ; 
and  they  have  achieved  a  great  deal  more  than 
simply  displaced  the  objection.  They  have  built 
up  a  strong  affirmative  evidence  in  its  room.  They 
have  not  been  content  with  the  overthrow  of  that 
hostile  argument,  which  first  led  them  to  the  ground, 
and  there  set  them  on  some  specific  w'alk  of  reason¬ 
ing  or  of  inquiry.  They  have  generally  chosen  to 
prosecute  that  walk  further;  aid  the  fruit  has  been, 


14 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


not  a  defence  merely  against  the  particular  infidelity 
winch  had  provoked  them  to  the  combat,  but  a  great 
positive  conquest  over  it.  The  alleged  disproof 
has  been  turned  into  a  weapon  against  the  adver¬ 
sary  ;  and,  where  we  at  one  time  in  the  battles  of 
the  faith  were  told  to  look  at  a  breach,  an  opening 
or  place  of  exposure— there  we  now  behold  the 
firmest  of  its  bulwarks.  Such  for  example  we 
flatter  ourselves  to  be  the  effect  of  Hume’s  peculiar 
scepticism  on  the  subject  of  testimony,  when  the 
right  treatment  is  bestowed  on  it.  A  great  positive 
gam  redounds  to  the  Christian  argument,  if  it  have 
been  proved,  not  only  that  there  is  enough  of  that 
best  and  highest  testimony  which  neutralizes 
the  improbability  of  a  miracle— but  as  much  more 
of  it  as  creates  a  vast  overplus  of  evidence  in  favour 
of  the  gospel  miracles,  and  brings  them  down  to 
posterity  as  far  the  best  authenticated  facts  which 
have  been  transmitted  to  us  in  the  history  of  ancient 
times.  The  same  has  been  the  upshot  of  the  con¬ 
troversy,  first  provoked  by  infidels,  on  the  alleged 
discrepancies  between  one  part  of  scripture  and 
another.  The  defenders  of  the  faith  have  not  only 

adjusted  these;  but  they  have  made  a  more  strenuous 

inquisition  than  was  necessary  for  this  service  alone- 
and  the  result  is  that,  beneath  the  surface  of  general 
observation,  they  have  discovered  such  a  number 
oi  before  unobserved  harmonies— such  minute  and 
till  then  unnoticed  coincidences,  that  no  impostor 
could  ever  have  devised,  or,  if  he  had,  then,  to 
serve  his  own  purpose,  he  would  have  placed  them 
more  openly  in  the  view  of  all  men-such  an  artless 
and  obviously  undesigned  correspondence,  in  many 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


15 


hundreds  of  particulars,  that  had  escaped  the  dis¬ 
cernment  of  all  ordinary  readers,  and  that  has  only 
been  evolved  into  manifestation  by  a  process  of 
thorough  sifting,  on  the  part  of  those  who  have 
been  at  the  pains  laboriously  to  track,  and  to  cross- 
examine,  and  to  confront  the  various  parts  and 
passages  of  the  record  with  each  other — as  nothing 
possibly  can  account  for,  but  that  the  whole  nar-  . 
rative  or  composition  has  a  ground  work  of  truth 
for  its  subject-matter.  In  the  present  chapter  we 
shall  verify  this  remark  by  one  or  two  instances, 
taken  from  that  marvellous  work  the  Horoe  Paulinse 
of  Dr.  Paley.  But  again  exceptions  have  been  made 
to  scripture  on  the  ground  of  its  discrepancies,  not 
with  itself  alone,  but  with  the  informations  of  other 
and  contemporary  writers.  These  have  led  to  a 
distinct  walk  of  inquiry  from  the  former ;  and  the 
defenders  of  revelation  have  in  general  reconciled 
the  alleged  contradictions.  But  they  have  not 
stopped  there.  They  have  discovered,  we  mean 
Lardner  and  his  followers,  such  a  profusion  of 
coincidences,  and  these  too  of  so  incidental  a 
character,  between  the  Bible  and  other  writings — 
such  an  impregnation  of  historical  truth,  or  what 
may  be  termed  the  truth  of  the  times,  as  never 
could  have  been  amalgamated  by  the  skill  of  any 
fabricator,  with  a  work  either  of  fictitious  design  or 
that  was  the  production  of  a  later  age.  In  like 
manner,  the  alleged  immoralities  of  scripture  have 
led  to  the  triumphant  exhibition  of  the  moral,  which 
some  would  place  on  a  level  with  the  miraculous 
argument  for  the  truth  of  Christianity.  But  in 
no  walk  of  evidence,  we  think,  has  the  observation 


16 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


we  now  make  been  more  remarkably  verified,  than 
in  that  which  is  termed  the  experimental.  The 
subject-matter  of  Christianity  has  been  represented 
as  incongruous  with  the  state  of  human  nature, 
and  as  therefore  inapplicable  to  the  rectification  or 
the  improvement  of  it.  On  the  contrary,  no  argu¬ 
ment  has  proved  more  effective  on  the  side  of  the 
.  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ— none  has  been  so  mightily 

instrumental  in  gaining  disciples  to  the  faith _ as 

the  deep  insight  of  this  religion  into  the  before 
unrevealed  mysteries  of  the  human  spirit,  and  the 
adaptation  of  its  doctrines  to  the  felt  condition  and 
necessities  of  the  species. 

5.  In  all  these  instances,  there  is  a  distinct 
transition  from  the  negative  to  the  positive.  We 
first  repel  the  alleged  disproof;  and  then,  by  a 
continuous  and  sustained  prosecution  of  the  sub¬ 
ject,  we  may  succeed  in  raising  a  highly  affirmative 
proof  upon  its  overthrow.  We  might  not  only, 
for  example,  clear  away  from  Revelation  the  burden 
of  all  its  alleged  immoralities ;  but  we  may  evince 
the  perfection  and  refinement  of  the  moral  system 
of  the  Gospel  to  be  such— that,  when  contrasted 
with  the  licentious  and  revengeful  system  of 
Paganism  on  the  one  hand,  or  with  illiberal  Juda¬ 
ism  on  the  other,  it  may  manifest  itself  not  to  have 
originated  with  the  fishermen  of  Galilee,  but  to 
have  descended  upon  them  by  inspiration  from 
heaven.  Or  again,  not  only  may  the  imputed 
contradictions  all  be  reconciled;  but  such  recondite 
harmonies  may  be  evolved;  such  obviously  unde¬ 
signed  coincidences,  as  were  beyond  the  reach  or 
the  policy  of  any  impostor,  may  be  fetched  from 


consistency  of  scripture. 


17 


0 

oeneath  the  surface  of  common  and  cursory  obser¬ 
vation  5  such  minute  and  before  unobserved  sym¬ 
phonies  between  parts  lying  remote  from  each 
other  may  be  brought  out  to  view,  as  never  could 
have  been  realized  without  a  common  substratum 
of  truth  to  rest  upon — that,  out  of  these  materials, 
a  most -impressive  argument,  and  altogether  of  a 
positive  character,  on  the  side  of  the  Christian 
religion,  may  be  constructed — as  has  been  done  in 
most  masterly  and  felicitous  style  by  Dr.  Paley  in 
his  Horae  Paulinae.  Or  again,  not  only  may  we 
manifest,  that  there  is  nought  of  discrepancy  be¬ 
tween  the  Bible,  and  either  the  history  and  state 
of  the  world,  or  the  state  of  human  nature ;  but 
that  throughout  the  narrative  and  doctrine  of  the 
sacred  volume,  there  is  a  most  marvellous  accor- 
dancy  with  both ;  and  on  these  may  be  grounded, 
not  merely  the  affirmative  proof  of  that  sustained 
connexion  which  obtains  between  scripture  and 
secular  history,  but  that  experimental  proof  which, 
in  one  branch  of  it,  we  hold  to  be  the  most  effective 
of  all  for  gaining  proselytes  to  the  faith.  We  mean 
the  proof  that  is  afforded  by  the  felt  agreement 
between  the  statements  of  the  Bible  and  the  state 
of  the  inquirer’s  own  breast— by  the  manifold  adap¬ 
tations  of  Christianity  to  the  moral  nature  of  man 
— by  the  adjustment  which  obtains,  like  that  of  a 
mould  to  its  counterpart  die,  between  the  offered 
remedy  of  the  Gospel  and  the  diseases  of  humanity, 
as  for  example  between  the  propitiation  that  is  set 
forth  to  us  from  heaven  and  the  guilt  which  trembles 
upon  earth.  In  all  this,  there  is  not  merely  a 
power  to  constrain  the  attention  but  to  convince 


18 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


and  satisfy  the  judgment;  there  is  a  light  struck 
out  between  the  Bible  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
conscience  on  the  other,  which  radiates,  not  a 
fanatic  gleam,  but  a  clear  and  rational  evidence  on 
the  soul — and  which,  however  disowned  or  perhaps 
derided  in  the  schools  of  literature,  is  a  powerful 
instrument  of  discovery  notwithstanding,  and  would 
be  enough  of  itself  to  guide  the  path  whether  of  the 
peasant  or  of  the  philosopher  to  heaven. 

6.  At  present  we  begin  with  an  evidence  which 
is  strictly  and  wholly  internal,  founded  on  the 
agreements  between  scripture  and  scripture — such 
agreements  as  no  impostor  would  have  devised, 
and  which  therefore  can  only  be  accounted  for  by 
the  general  truth  and  authenticity  of  the  whole. 
The  initial  step,  in  the  track  of  this  investigation, 
is,  to  deliver  the  Bible  from  the  charge  of  its  seem¬ 
ing  contradictions — for  even  at  first  sight,  and  on 
the  most  slight  and  superficial  view,  appearances 
of  this  sort  do  stand  palpably  forth  on  the  face  of 
the  record— such  therefore  as  a  superficial  infidelity 
would  be  the  most  ready  to  seize  upon.  Now 
every  semblance  of  this  nature,  if  satisfactorily 
done  away  or  disposed  of  on  a  nearer  and  stricter 
examination,  forms  a  distinct  argument  in  favour 
of  the  revelation- -proving,  as  it  does,  such  an 
absence  of  care  and  contrivance  as  could  only  pro¬ 
ceed  from  the  consciousness  of  truth  on  the  part 
of  the  narrator — else  he  would  not  have  exposed 
himself  to  a  discredit,  which  every  author,  who 
tries  to  palm  a  fabrication  upon  the  world,  would 
labour  most  studiously  to  avoid.  When  the  alleged 
discrepancy  obtains  between  different  writers  in 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


19 


scripture,  as  the  evangelists  of  the  New  Testament — 
the  legitimate  inference  on  the  adjustment  of  such 
discrepancy  is,  that  there  could  be  no  collision 
between  them;  and  that  their  testimonies  therefore 
are  independent  of  each  other.  This  whole  subject 
has  been  investigated  with  much  detail,  and  been 
most  ably  and  elaborately  argued  by  the  defenders 
of  Christianity.*  It  will  be  found,  that,  with  very 
few  exceptions,  these  apparent  contradictions  all 
admit  of  an  actual  solution;  and  the  remaining 
ones,  of  a  solution  which  may  be  termed  hypothe¬ 
tical — that  is  a  solution  which  would  perfectly 
account  for  the  seeming  discrepancy,  on.  certain 
given  suppositions  not  unlikely  in  themselves, 
though  not  expressly  warranted  by  any  informations 
that  we  actually  possess.  Even  here  the  principle 
which  we  have  elsewhere  laboured  to  demonstrate 
will  be  found  of  avail — we  mean  the  use  of  an 
hypothesis  in  controversial  argument,  not  as  being 
competent  to  the  office  of  establishing  a  proof,  but 
altogether  competent  to  the  office  of  repelling  an 
objection.  If  the  supposition  in  question  remove 
the  discrepancy,  and  if,  for  aught  we  know ,  the 
supposition  may  be  true  or  is  not  incredible — then, 
although  not  of  strength  enough  to  warrant  its 
own  absolute  certainty,  it  may  at  least  be  of  strength 
enough  to  keep  an  objection  at  abeyance,  so  that 
it  shall  not  be  suffered,  when  thus  capable  of  being 
disposed  of,  to  overset  a  religion  having  such  weight 

*  We  have  a  pretty  full  list  of  these  contradictions  in  Horne's 
“Introduction  to  the  Holy  Scriptures.”  Ed.  7th,  Vol.  ii.  Part 
II.  Book  II.  ch.  vii.  sect.  vi. — with  an  account  of  the  manner  in 
which  they  are  reconciled. 


20 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


and  variety  of  positive  evidence  in  its  favour.  It 
reconciles  us  all  the  more  to  this  conclusion  on  the 
subject  of  these  remaining  difficulties,  that  the 
labours  of  criticism  are  constantly  diminishing  the 
number  of  them— the  affirmation  of  Michaelis 
respecting  the  alleged  misquotations  of  the  Old 
Testament  in  the  New,  which  form  one  species  of 

apparent  inconsistency,  holding  true  of  them  all. _ _ 

“  Having  found,”  he  says,  c<  by  actual  experience 
and  a  more  minute  investigation  of  the  subject, 
that  many  passages,  which  other  critics  as  well  as 
m3  self  had  taken  for  false  quotations,  were  yet 
properly  cited  by  the  Apostles,  I  trust  that  future 
critics  will  be  able  to  solve  the  doubts  in  the  few 
examples  that  remain.”*  It  is  thus  that  the 
hypothetical  solutions  are  at  length  converted  into 
actual  ones ;  and,  on  the  strength  of  both,  such  a 
\ indication  has  been  effected,  as  not  merely  to 
neutralize  the  objection,  but  to  substantiate  a 
strong  affirmative  proof  in  favour  of  the  artless 
honesty  of  writers,  who  evidently  practised  no 
elaboration  for  the  purpose  of  sustaining  a  veri¬ 
similitude  in  the  absence  of  verity,  or  giving  an 
aspect  of  consistency  to  imposture. 

7.  But  the  argument  thus  obtained  from  the 
adjustment  of  these  seeming  contradictions  and 
differences,  is  distinct  from  the  argument  on  which 
we  are  now  to  insist,  and  which  is  obtained  from 
the  discovery  that  has  been  made,  in  this  same 
line  of  investigation,  of  a  mighty  host  of  coincidences 
before  unnoticed  and  unknown.  For  many 


Michaelis’  Introduction  by  Marsh.  Ed.  4th,  Vol.  L  p.  210. 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


21 


turies  the  Christian  world  had  not  been  aware  of 
their  existence ;  because  placed  as  it  were  in 
latent  depths  beneath  the  reach  of  cursory  or 
superficial  observation,  whence  they  have  at  length 
been  extracted  and  exposed  to  view  by  the  diligence 
of  critics  and  collators.  We  have  already  referred 
to  the  happiest  specimen  of  this  in  the  Horse  Pan- 
linse  of  Dr.  Paley,  who  not  only,  as  if  by  the  use 
of  a  probing  instrument  in  most  skilful  hands,  has 
found  his  way  to  these  hidden  treasures;  but 
gathered  and  arranged  them  into  a  cabinet  of  trulv 
precious  things,  for  the  entertainment  and  solid 
instruction  of  his  readers.  There  are  only  two 
hypotheses,  which  can  account  for  the  perfect  cor¬ 
respondence  that  he  exhibits,  between  remote 
informations,  and  often  fragments  of  information, 
which  he  has  brought  together  from  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles  and  the  Epistles  of  Paul — and  so  as 
to  make  out  of  them,  in  each  instance,  one  entire 
and  consistent  fact  or  passage  in  the  history  of  the 
Apostle.  Either  it  must  have  been  a  true  history, 
or  else  a  most  artful  and  laborious  fabrication.  It 
must  have  had  a  real  groundworK  in  a  series  of 
actual  occurrences ;  or  it  must  have  been  the  sus¬ 
tained  and  skilful  invention  of  one,  who  so  pieced 
and  adjusted  one  part  to  another,  as  to  present  us 
with  that  immense  and  ever-increasing  number  of 
circumstantial  agreements,  which  are  now  set  forth 
in  open  manifestation  to  the  general  eye.  Their 
exceeding  minuteness  and  variety,  altogether  refute 
the  imagination  that  they  could  have  happened  at 
random ;  and  this  shuts  us  up  to  one  or  other  of 
the  two  hypotheses — an  authentic  story ;  or  a  most 


22 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


intricate  and  refined  imposture,  the  chief  plausi¬ 
bilities  of  which  however  were  to  lie  in  reserve 
for  nearly  two  thousand  years,  till,  by  a  process  of 
development  almost  as  laborious  as  the  original 
invention  of  them,  they  should  at  length  become 
patent  to  general  observation,  and  then  work  their 
fu  l  and  favourable  effect  on  the  minds  of  a  distant 
posterity.  Such  a  species  of  practising  is  wholly 
unexampled  in  the  history  of  this  world’s  delusions. 
We  might  as  soon  expect  that  the  pretender  to  an 
*?rtate  would,  with  his  own  hands,  tear  the  likeliest 
of  its  forged  title-deeds  into  fragments  and  then 
bury  them  in  scattered  portions  under  ground, — . 
where  in  the  course  of  generations  they  might  be 
reassembled  by  some  future  antiquaries  into  a 
demonstration,  that  his  were  the  valid  rights  of  the 
property,  that  these  were  the  undoubted  evidences 
of  himself  being  the  legitimate  proprietor.  No 
impostor  would  first  devise  a  number,  an  exceed¬ 
ing  number  of  specious  likelihoods  in  his  favour , 
w.rd  then  deposit  them  in  places  so  inaccessible,  as 
that  not  one  in  ten  thousand  could  be  in  the  least 
aware  of  them.  This  is  not  the  way  of  an  impostor, 
who  is  ever  sure  to  set  himself  off  to  the  greatest 
and  most  immediate  advantage,  and  who  for  this 
purpose  would  make  all  his  proofs  and  pretensions 
stand  forth  as  discernibly  as  possible  before  the  eye 
of  public  observation.  There  remains  no  other 
conclusion  then,  respecting  these  inferred  and 
altogether  undesigned  congruities,  than  that  they 
are  the  vestiges  and  proofs  of  a  real  history,  and  of 
which  the  world  was  not  conscious  till  thoroughly 
explored  by  the  shrewd  and  fortunate  adventurer 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


23 


who  had  opened  his  way  to  them,  as  to  a  rich  mine 
of  evidence,  and  thence  gathered  the  materials  of 
an  overpowering  argument  for  the  truth  of  our 
religion.  But,  instead  of  attempting  the  general 
description  of  this  mode  of  inference,  it  is  better 
that  we  should  present  the  reader  with  at  least  oi>* 
or  two  of  its  specimens — selected,  not  altogether 
because  they  are  the  most  striking  in  the  collection* 
but  because  they  are  among  the  shortest. 

8.  44  Colossians  iv.  9.  4  With  Onesimus,  a  faithful 
and  beloved  brother,  who  is  one  of  you' 

44  Observe  how  it  may  be  made  out  that  Onesimus 
was  a  Colossian.  Turn  to  the  Epistle  to  Phile¬ 
mon,  and  you  will  find  that  Onesimus  was  the 
servant  or  slave  of  Philemon.  The  question  will 
therefore  be,  to  what  city  Philemon  belonged.  In 
the  epistle  addressed  to  him  this  is  not  declared. 
It  appears  only  that  he  was  of  the  same  place, 
whatever  that  place  was,  with  an  eminent  Christian 
named  Archippus.  4  Paul,  a  prisoner  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  Timothy  our  brother,  unto  Philemon 
our  dearly  beloved  and  fellow-labourer  ;  and  to  our 
beloved  Apphia,  and  Archippus  our  fellow  soldier, 
and  to  the  church  in  thy  house/  Now  turn  back 
to  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians,  and  you  will  find 
Archippus  saluted  by  name  amongst  the  Christians 
of  that  church.  4  Say  to  Archippus,  Take  heed 
to  the  ministry  which  thou  hast  received  in  the 
Lord  that  thou  fulfil  it*  (iv.  17).  The  necessary 
result  is,  that  Onesimus  also  was  of  the  same  city, 
agreeably  to  what  is  said  of  him  4  he  is  one  of 
you/  And  this  result  is  the  effect  either  of  truth 
which  produces  consistency  without  the  writer’s 


24 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


thought  or  care,  or  of  a  contexture  of  forgeries 
confirming  and  falling  in  with  one  another  by  a 
species  of  fortuity  of  which  I  know  no  example. 
1  he  supposition  of  design,  I  think,  is  excluded,  not 
only  because  the  purpose  to  which  the  design  must 
have  been  directed,  viz.,  the  verification  of  the 
passage  in  our  epistle  in  which  it  is  said  concern¬ 
ing  Onesimus,  £  he  is  one  of  you,’  is  a  purpose 
which  would  be  lost  upon  ninety-nine  readers 
out  of  a  hundred ;  but  because  the  means  made 
use  of  are  too  circuitous  to  have  been  the  subject 
of  affectation  and  contrivance.  Would  a  forger, 
who  had  this  purpose  in  view,  have  left  his 
readers  to  hunt  it  out,  by  going  forward  and  back¬ 
ward  from  one  epistle  to  another  in  order  to  connect 
Onesimus  with  Philemon,  Philemon  with  Arehip- 
pus,  and  Archippus  with  Colosse  ?  all  which  he 
must  do  before  he  arrives  at  his  discovery,  that  it 
was  truly  said  of  Onesimus,  6  he  is  one  of  you/ 

*’  2  Timothy  iii.  15.  ‘And  that  from  a  child 
thou  hast  known  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  are 
Nable  to  make  thee  wise  unto  salvation/ 

“  Ihis  verse  discloses  a  circumstance  which 
agrees  exactly  with  what  is  intimated  in  Acts  xvi.  1 . 
where  it  is  recorded  of  Timothy’s  mother  6  that 
she  was  a  Jewess.’  This  description  is  virtually, 
though  I  am  satisfied,  undesignedly,  recognized  in 
the  epistle,  when  Timothy  is  reminded  in  it  6  that 
from  a  child  he  had  known  the  Holy  Scriptures/ 

1  he  Holy  Scriptures  undoubtedly  meant  the 
Scriptures  ot  the  Old  Testament.  The  expression 
bears  that  sense  in  every  place  in  which  it  occurs. 
j  hose  of  the  new  had  not  vet  acquired  the  name. 


CONSISTENCY  OE  SCRIPTURE. 


25 


* 


not  to  mention  that  in  Timothy’s  childhood  proba¬ 
bly,  none  of  them  existed.  In  what  manner  then 
could  Timothy  have  known  ‘from  a  child’  the 
Jewish  Scriptures  had  he  not  been  born  on  one 
side  or  both  of  Jewish  parentage?  Perhaps  he 
was  not  less  likely  to  be  carefully  instructed  in 
them,  for  that  his  mother  alone  professed  that 
religion.” 

9.  These  are  but  two  specimens  out  of  many 
alike  impressive,  and  they  are  yet  far  from  being 
exhausted.  They  will  be  still  further  multiplied  by 
the  labours  of  future  inquirers,  and  so  as  to  form 
an  accumulating  evidence,  and  of  a  kind  too  strictly 
and  wholly  internal — educed  as  it  is  altogether 
from  the  comparison  of  scripture  with  scripture. 
Were  the  agreements  thus  manifested  obvious  and 
explicit,  refuge  might  be  taken  in  the  imputation 
of  forgery ;  but,  when  they  can  only  be  obtained 
by  a  very  circuitous  track  of  investigation,  all 
suspicion  of  contrivance  is  effectually  done  away. 
It  is  this  which  constitutes  the  main  strength  of 
that  circumstantial  evidence  which  lies  in  the 
depositions  of  living  witnesses,  who  exhibit  a 
sustained  coincidence  without  collusion,  and  that 
too  in  evidence  of  the  utmost  particularity.  It  is 
consent  without  concert,  in  things  of  such  exceeding 
minuteness  and  variety,  that  stamps  a  credit  upon 
testimony,  even  when  the  character  and  condition 
of  the  witnesses  are  altogether  unknown — nor  is  it 
necessary,  for  the  purpose  of  feeling  its  strength, 
that  more  should  be  attended  to  than  the  testimony 
itself.  The  two  species  of  agreement  are  quite 
distinguishable — that  which  is  the  fruit  of  artifice, 

B 


20 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


and  that  which  is  altogether  unsought  and  sponta¬ 
neous  ;  and  it  is  the  exceeding  multitude  of  these 
last  which  makes  the  history  of  Paul,  as  educed 
from  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  from  his  own 
epistles,  so  pregnant  with  an  evidence  of  the  highest 
order.  For  these  documents  admit  of  being  con¬ 
fronted  and  cross-examined  in  the  same  wav  that 
living  witnesses  are,  who,  if  found  to  agiee  in  every 
point  even  the  most  incidental  and  the  .most  exempt 
from  every  appearance  of  design — then  no  other 
conviction  can  possibly  result  from  their  common 
testimony,  than  that  it  is  the  evidence  of  a  common 
truth  to  which  all  the  parties  had  access,  and  on 
which  the  statements  of  them  all  are  founded. 
The  closeness  and  exactness  of  these  now  evolved 
harmonies  are  all  the  more  impressive  that  they 
were  before  unnoticed,  and  which  go  therefore 
irresistibly  to  prove  that  they  were  also  undevised 
— for  they  would  not  have  answered  the  purposes 
of  forgery.  The  evidence  afforded  by  these  unex¬ 
pected  junctions  of  so  many  little  fragments  which 
lie  far  apart  from  each  other,  has  been  aptly 
compared  by  Dr.  Paley  himself  to  the  evidence  given 
by  the  parts  of  a  cloven  tally,  as  being  indeed  the 
real  parts  of  a  real  and  authentic  ^vhole.  No  such 
contexture  could  have  come  forth  of  the  hands  of 
fiction  or  imposture — which  never  would  have 
busied  itself  in  framing  a  tissue,  not  of  palpable 
but  of  unseen  consistencies,  that  never  could  have 
been  known,  had  it  not  been  for  the  labours  of  a 
dexterous  analyst  who  succeeded,  but  with  great 
pains,  to  open  up  and  unravel  them.  The  thread, 
to  use  Dr.  Paley’s  own  image,  which  touches  upon 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


27 


bo  many  points,  would  have  been  set  forth  more  fully 
and  plainly,  by  the  original  fabricator,  if  the  whole 
be  indeed  a  fabrication,  and  not  left  to  be  disen¬ 
tangled  from  the  mass  in  which  it  lies  enveloped _ - 

proving  incontrovertibly,  that  it  is  a  substratum  or 
a  ground-work  of  truth  from  which  it  has  been 
taken.  The  reciprocal  illustration  cast  by  texts 
or  clauses  of  texts  far  asunder  from  each  other,  as 
being  obviously  not  the  result  of  studied  adaptation, 
can  only  be  the  result  of  that  living  reality  which 
pervades  and  animates  the  whole.  The  immense 
number  of  such  correspondences,  as  if  by  an  author 
altogether  unconscious  or  certainly  without  the 
least  endeavour  to  display  them,  yields  an  evidence 
of  the  strongest  sort — an  evidence  too  independent 
of  history,  and  not  drawn  from  any  external  source, 
from  any  outward  credentials ;  but  from  the  very 
contents  and  substance  of  the  record  itself. 

10.  And  it  is  an  evidence  not  confined  to  that 
special  department  of  scripture,  whence  it  has  been 
gathered  in  such  teeming  and  marvellous  profusion 
by  the  hand  of  Dr.  Paley.  We  believe  that  it  is 
an  evidence  more  or  less  to  be  found  in  every  true 
narrative  of  any  considerable  length,  which  has 
descended  to  us  from  ancient  times.  We  must 
therefore  expect  to  meet  with  it  in  other  parts  of 
scripture  ;  and  accordingly,  this  successful  attempt 
of  Paley,  has  been  followed  up  by  successful 
imitations  on  the  part  of  other  labourers.  The 
direct  narrative  of  the  transactions  in  the  Pentateuch, 
and  the  proper  record  of  which  is  to  be  found  in 
the  books  of  Exodus,  Leviticus  and  Numbers,  is 
again  presented  to  us  in  an  altered  and  abridged 


28 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


form  in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy.  The  comparison 
of  the  history  with  its  recapitulation  has  been  ably 
prosecuted  by  Dr.  Groves ;  and  much  pleasing 
evidence  of  this  kind  has  been  deduced  by  him.* 
The  same  has  been  well  accomplished  by  Mr. 
Blunt  in  another  portion  of  scripture — the  four 
Gospels  which  he  confronts  both  with  each  other 
and  with  the  Acts  of  the  Apostle's.!  We  offer 
from  the  latter  performance  a  few  brief  specimens 
of  that  coincidence  without  design  on  which  the 
whole  of  this  particular  argument  is  founded. — 
Compare  Matt.  viii.  14.  with  1  Cor.  ix.  5,  where 
from  each  passage,  and  obviously  not  copied  the  one 
from  the  other,  we  gather  that  Peter  was  a  married 
man. — Read  the  four  following  passages,  Markvi.3, 
Luke  viii.  19,  John  ii.  12,  and  Matt.  xii.  46  ;  and 
it  will  be  found  that  the  death  of  Joseph  is  indirectly 
shewn  by  all  the  four  evangelists,  to  have  happened 
when  Christ  was  alive ;  and  we  add,  that  from 
Luke  ii.  42,  43,  it  appears  to  have  happened  after 
he  was  twelve  years  of  age.  In  keeping  with  this,  ' 
no  mention  is  made  of  Joseph  at  the  feast  of  Cana, 
or  at  the  resurrection. — There  are  certain  minute 
and  delicate  traits,  and  certainly  not  the  less  effective 
on  that  account,  of  the  authorship  of  the  gospels 
by  Matthew  and  John,  and  which  harmonize  with 
the  received  understanding,  that  themselves  were 
the  writers  of  them.  The  following  are  two 
examples  taken  from  the  former  of  these  evangelists. 

*  See  Groves’  Lectures  on  the  four  last  books  of  the  Pentateuch, 
designed  to  show  the  divine  origin  of  the  Jewish  religion,  chiefly 
from  Internal  Evidence. 

f  See  Blunt’s  veracity  of  the  Gospel  and  Acts,  from  their  coin¬ 
cidences  with  each  other  and  with  Josephus. 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


29 


In  Matt.  ix.  10,  Jesus  is  represented  as  sitting 
down  to  meat  with  publicans  and  sinners  in  the 
house.  When  the  same  transaction  is  recorded  in 
Mark  ii.  15,  it  is  called  his  house,  the  house  of 
Matthew.  In  Luke  v.  29,  it  is  called  his  own 
house.  It  was  natural  in  thfe  proprietor  to  call  it 
the ,  rather  than  his  or  his  own  house.  It  forms 
another  internal  mark  of  truth  that  so  many 
publicans  suould  have  been  of  the  party.  Again 
in  Matt.  x.  2,  &c.,  the  Apostles  are  enumerated  in 
pairs,  probably  from  their  being  sent  in  their 
respective  missions  by  two  and  two.  Matthew  is 
associated  with  Thomas;  and  when  the  enumeration 
is  made  by  Matthew,  Thomas  is  named  first.  In 
Mark  iii.  18,  and  Luke  vi.  15,  Matthew  is  named 
the  first.  The  discreditable  circumstance  of  his 
having  been  a  publican  is  kept  out  of  sight  by  the  two 
latter  evangelists,  but  noticed  with  characteristic 
modesty  by  Matthew  himself. — In  Matt.  xiv.  1,  2, 
we  find  Herod  speaking  to  his  servants ,  of  Jesus, 
which  was  very  likely  to  happen,  if  he  knew  them 
to  have  been  interested  in  Jesus  and  aware  of  him. 
This  is  corroborated  both  in  Luke  viii.  3,  where 
mention  is  made  of  Joanna  the  wife  of  Herod’s 
steward,  and  Acts  xiii.  1,  where  we  read  of  Manaen 

brought  up  with  Herod _ In  Matt.  xxvi.  67,  68, 

they  who  struck  Jesus  with  the  palms  of  their 
hands  are  made  to  say,  “  Prophesy  (or  divine)  unto 

us,  thou  Christ,  who  is  he  that  smote  thee  ?”. _ a 

challenge  to  the  supernatural  pretensions  of  him 
who  profest  to  be  the  Messiah,  that  is  not  very 
intelligible  from  the  omission  of  a  circumstance 
supplied  by  another  evangelist.  In  Luke  xxii.  64, 


30 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


we  are  told  that  he  was  blindfolded. — In  Matt,  xxvi, 
65,  the  charge  on  which  the  Jews  condemned 
Christ  was  blasphemy — a  crime  of  all  others  the 
best  fitted  to  make  him  the  object  of  popular 
indignation.  Whereas  in  Luke  xxiii.  2,  when 
instead  of  being  accused  before  the  J ews,  he  was 
taken  to  the  Roman  governor  before  whom  this 
charge  would  not  have  been  so  effective,  he  was 
represented  as  “  perverting  the  nation,  and  forbidding 
to  give  tribute  to  Caesar,  saying  that  he  himself  is 
Christ  a  king.”  All  this  is  in  harmony,  but  surely 
an  unstudied  harmony,  with  John  x.  33,  John  v.  18, 
and  Acts  xxiii.  29 — Lastly,  in  John  vi.  5,  we  find 
Jesus  singling  out  Philip  in  the  question  he  put,  as 
to  the  means  that  could  be  provided  at  the  place 
where  they  then  were,  for  the  entertainment  of  a 
multitude  overtaken  with  hunger.  In  Luke  ix.  10, 
we  read  that  it  was  a  desert  place,  belonging  to  a 
city  called  Bethsaida.  And  lastly,  in  John  i.  44, 
we  are  told  that  Philip  was  of  Bethsaida — the 
likeliest  person  then  to  whom  this  question  should 
have  been  addressed.  These  are  but  a  few  examples 
out  of  the  many.  In  Mr.  Blunt’s  work,  which  is  a 
superior  performance,  the  reader  will  meet  with  a 
goodly  number  of  others  to  the  full  as  striking  and 
satisfactory,  as  those  which  we  have  now  given. 

11.  Scripture  throughout  is  replete  with  this 
internal  evidence;  but,  without  instancing  any. 
other  or  separate  portions  of  it,  let  us  advert  for 
one  moment  to  that  great  and  general  coincidence 
— that  unity  of  purpose  and  counsel,  by  which  from 
first  to  last  the  whole  of  it  is  pervaded.  In  the 
whole  history  of  the  world,  there  is  nothing  that 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


31 


bears  the  least  resemblance  to  it — an  authorship 
beginning  with  Moses  and  terminating  with  the 
Apostle  John,  that  is,  sustained  by  a  series  of 
writers  for  1500  years,  many  of  them  isolated  from 
all  the  rest,  and  the  greater  part  of  whom  were 
unknowing  and  unknown  to  each  other,  insomuch 
that  there  could  be  no  converse  and  no  possible 
concert  between  them.  A  conspiracy  between 
parties  or  individuals  so  situated  had  been  alto¬ 
gether  superhuman.  Their  lots  were  cast  in  dif¬ 
ferent  generations ;  and  nothing  can  explain  the 
consistency  or  continuity  of  their  movements  to¬ 
wards  one  and  the  same  great  object,  but  that  they 
were  instruments  in  the  hands  of  the  one  God, 
who,  from  generation  to  generation,  keeps  un¬ 
changeably  by  the  counsels  of  His  unerring  wisdom, 
and  the  determinations  of  His  unerring  will.  The 
convergency  towards  one  and  the  same  fulfilment 
of  so  many  different  lights,  appearing  in  different 
ages  of  the  world  and  placed  at  such  a  distance 
from  each  other,  admits  we  think  of  but  one  inter¬ 
pretation — nor,  without  the  power  and  the  pre¬ 
science  of  an  overruling  God,  can  we  account  for 
that  goodly  that  regular  progression  of  consentaneous 
and  consecutive  authorship,  which  is  carried  for¬ 
ward  by  the  legislators  and  seers  and  historians  of 
the  children  of  Israel.  And  this  evidence  is  not 
confined  to  the  articulate  testimony  of  their  writings. 
The  ritual,  the  institutions,  the  events,  of  which 
their  priestly  and  consecrated  land  was  the  theatre, 
all  tell  us  of  the  same  thing ;  and  announce  that 
divine  harmony  which  connects  the  dim  prefigura¬ 
tions  of  the  elder  with  the  brighter  developments 


32  CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

of  the  latter  dispensation.  There  is  a  minute  and 
microscopic  cognizance  which  might  be  taken  of 
the  harmonies  of  scripture,  and  which  comes 
intimately  home  to  the  conviction  of  the  inquirer; 
but  there  is  also  a  consistency  of  greater  lineaments 
— an  unbroken  continuity  of  design  which  passes 
onward  from  century  to  century — the  congruities, 
not  of  one  personal  history,  but  of  a  scheme  that 
commences  with  the  first  origin  and  has  its  con¬ 
summation  in  the  final  destinies  of  our  species — a 
succession  of  profest  revelations,  of  which  the  first 
and  last  stand  apart  at  the  distance  of  greatly  more 
than  a  millennium,  yet  all  actuated  by  one  reigning 
spirit,  and  having,  for  their  object  the  establishment 
of  a  spiritual  economy  which  might  reconcile  glory 
to  God  in  the  highest  with  peace  on  earth  and 
good  will  to  men — these  form  the  correspondences, 
not  of  a  story  that  embraces  but  the  transactions 
of  one  individual,  but  of  a  system  which  is  com¬ 
mensurate  to  the  world  and  bespeaks  in  its  leading 
characters  the  mind  and  the  majesty  of  God.* 

12.  But  there  is  another  species  of  adaptation, 
alike  prolific  of  argument  with  that  on  which  we 
have  insisted  hitherto — not  the  coincidence  only 
which  obtains  between  scripture  and  scripture,  but 
the  coincidence  alike  varied  and  minute  and  circum¬ 
stantial,  which  obtains  between  scripture  and  the 
works  either  of  Jewish  or  Christian  authors — or 
rather  between  scripture  and  the  state  of  things  as 
made  known  by  these  authors  in  and  about  Judea. 
The  title  of  Mr.  Blunt’s  work  to  which  we  have 

*  We  ask  the  reader  to  reflect  how  unlike  in  this  respect  the 
religion  of  Mahomet  is  to  that  of  Jesus  Christ. 


CONSISTENCY’  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


33 


already  referred,  is,  44  The  veracity  of  the  Gospels 
and  Acts  from  their  coincidences  with  each  other  and 
Josephus  ”  The  truth  is  that  from  the  one  compari¬ 
son  we  might  educe  an  argument  of  the  very  same 
character  and  effect,  with  that  more  strictly  internal 
argument,  which,  by  means  of  the  other  comparison, 
has  been  presented  with  such  signal  ability  and  suc¬ 
cess  by  Dr.  Paley.  In  mathematics,  if  one  line  of 
perfect  straightness  but  coincide  with  another  in 
two  points,  then  they  are  perfectly  straight  through¬ 
out  and  coincide  universally.  What  is  now  affirmed 
of  a  line  in  mathematics  does  not  hold  to  the  same 
extent  of  a  line  in  history — but  certain  it  is,  that 
the  greater  is  the  number  of  points  at  which  any 
given  history  coincides  with  another  that  is  received 
and  trusted  in  as  authentic,  the  greater  is  the  pro¬ 
bability  of  their  entire  coincidence  both  with  truth 
and  with  each  other — the  inference  from  their  mutual 
agreement  being,  that  both  copied  from  and  there¬ 
fore  that  both  agree  with  the  same  original  realities 
which  they  are  employed  in  describing.  This 
probability  is  greatly  enhanced  by  the  situation 

in  which  we  find  these  points  of  coincidence _ that 

is  in  situations  the  least  prominent,  the  least 
noticeable,  the  least  obtrusive,  and  therefore  the 
least  likely  to  attract  the  observation  of  readers  or 
inquirers.  We  can  imagine  a  number  of  coincidences 
to  be  framed  by  an  inventor,  but  then  it  would  be 
in  places  which  served  his  immediate  purpose  best; 
nor  would  he  ever  think  of  devising  a  number  of 
coincidences,  and  then  placing  them  so  beyond  the 
reach  of  common  access  or  observation,  that  not 
one  in  ten  thousand  of  his  readers  ever  could  have 

b  2 


34 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


discovered  them.  They  are  agreements  like  these 
which  form  the  materials  of  one  and  the  same 
argument,  whether  in  the  process  of  internal  or  of 
external  comparison.  When  the  comparison  is 
between  parts  of  scripture,  the  resulting  evidence 
is  like  that  afforded  by  the  fragments  of  a  cloven 
tally.  When  the  comparison  is  between  scripture 
and  other  authors,  the  resulting  evidence  is 
altogether  of  the  same  genus — though,  without 
supposing  a  disjunction  of  parts,  it  is  more  like 
that  afforded  by  the  adaptation  of  a  key  to  its  lock, 
of  a  die  to  its  counterpart  mould,  of  a  seal  to  its 
impression,  or  of  any  unbroken  whole  to  the 
external  contour  from  wrhich  it  has  taken  both  its 
dimensions  and  its  outline. 

13.  The  literature  connected  with  this  part  of 
the  argument  too  was,  like  the  other,  originated 
by  infidelity.  Contradictions  were  alleged  by 
Woolston  and  others,  between  scripture  and  the 
known  customs  and  history  of  scripture  times ; 
and,  not  only  have  these  been  satisfactorily  disposed 
of;  but  the  ulterior  achievement  in  this  walk  of 
investigation  has  been,  that  a  strong  affirmative 
evidence  is  now  raised,  on  the  basis  of  a  deeper 
and  more  manifold  coincidence,  between  scripture 
and  external  history  or  external  observation,  than 
was  before  known  or  even  imagined.  Both  ancient 
writers  and  modern  travellers  have  made  their 
respective  contributions  to  this  argument,  which, 
though  defensive  at  the  first,  has  earned  a  great 
posiiive  accession  to  the  cause,  and  made  it  far 
more  rich  in  evidence  than  before.  In  the  work 
of  reconciling  the  apparent  contradictions,  the 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  35 

f) 

student  will  not  fail  to  observe  the  operation  of  a 
principle  to  which  we  have  often  adverted — a  dis¬ 
position  on  the  part,  not  of  infidel  only,  but  of 
Christian  writers  also,  to  defer  greatly  more  to  the 
testimony  of  the  exscriptural  than  to  that  of  the 
scriptural  authors — insomuch,  that,  on  every  sem¬ 
blance  of  a  disagreement  betwixt  them,  the  blemish 
or  suspicion  is  always  associated  with  the  latter 
and  not  with  the  former.  Matthew  and  Mark  and 
Luke  and  John  and  Paul  are  sisted  as  parties  or 
pannels  at  the  bar — while  Josephus  and  Philo  and 
Tacitus  and  Pliny  are-  made  the  judges,  at  whose 
tribunal  they  must  wait  their  sentence,  whether  of 
acquittal  or  condemnation.  Nay,  the  silence  of 
the  profane,  has  often  been  construed  into  an  im¬ 
peachment  against  the  testimony  of  the  sacred 

authors _ whereas  the  converse  treatment  has  never 

been  attempted  in  the  way  of  retaliation  by  the 
defenders  of  Christianity.  If  it  had,  the  attempt 
would  have  been  resented,  and  most  warrantably, 
by  every  sound  eruditionist  or  critic — for  how  are 
the  informations  of  history  to  grow  upon  our  hands, 
unless  each  individual  writer  be  permitted  to  offer 
some  contributions  of  his  own?  There  might  be 
enough  of  common  truth  among  the  esteemed 
authors  of  antiquity,  to  authenticate  their  respective 
narrations— so  that,  while  Tacitus  obtains  full  credit 
for ,  all  that  is  peculiar  in  his  history,  why  might 
not  evangelists  and  Apostles  be  indulged  also  in 
their  peculiar  statements,  even  when  no  foreign 
corroboration  is  to  be  found  ?  But  it  is  when  the 
evangelists  are  not  only  unsupported,  but  to  appear¬ 
ance  contradicted  by  profane  or  Jewish  writers,  that 


36  CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

# 

this  disparity  in  their  treatment  becomes  most 
obvious.  F or  example,  J osephus  tells  that  Cyrenius 
was  not  governor  of  Syria  till  ten  or  twelve  years 
after  the  time  at  which  Luke,  in  the  first  and  second 
verses  of  his  third  chapter,  seems  to  tell  us  that  he 
was  the  governor  of  that  province.  It  seems  a  settled 
point  among  the  controvertists  on  both  sides  of  this 
question  that  Josephus  must  be  right,  and  the  mis¬ 
take,  if  any,  must  be  Luke’s.*  The  defenders  of 
Chiistianity  scarcely  ever  think  of  boldly  retorting 
the  possibility  that  Josephus  or  Tacitus  or  Pliny 
might  be  mistaken.  Fhe  infallibility  is  all  conceded 
to  the  exscriptural  authors ;  and  the  great  effort  is 
to  clear  up  the  apparent  mistatements  or  mistakes, 
into  which  it  is  assumed,  on  every  case  of  an  aspect 
of  contrariety,  that  the  evangelical  writers  must  have 
fallen.  In  the  particular  instance  now  referred  to, 
this  has  been  effectively  done  by  the  indefatigable 
Lardner,  who  conceives  that  Cyrenius  had  made  an 
assessment  at  the  time  of  our  Saviour’s  birth,  and 
before  he  was  governor  of  Syria ;  but  that  Luke,  in 
telling  the  transaction,  mentions  Cyrenius,  not  as 

When  St.  Luke,  then,  and  Josephus  differ  in  their  accounts 
of  the  same  fact,  the  question  is,  which  of  the  two  writers  has 
given  the  true  one  ?  And  here  it  is  not  a  little  extraop&nary, 
that  without  further  inquiry  it  is  universally  determined  in  favour 
of  the  latter,  as  if  Josephus  were  inspired,  and  whoever  contra- 
dicted  him  must  of  course  be  mistaken.  This  is  a  method  of 
proceeding  which  is  applied  on  no  other  occasion,"  &c. 

.  ‘ ‘  This  at  least  is  certain,  that  if  we  found  the  same  contradic¬ 
tion  in  the  relation  of  a  fact  between  either  Greek,  or  Roman,  or 
modern  historians,  we  should  not  hesitate  to  prefer  the  author 
who  was  contemporary  to  the  event  related,  and  who  to  a  know¬ 
ledge  of  the  person  described  joins  minuteness  and  impartiality, 
to  him  who  lived  in  a  later  period,  and  wrote  a  general  history, 
of  which  the  subject  in  question  was  only  an  inconsiderable  part.” 
Michael  is  Introduction,  Vol.  i.  Part  II.  chap.  ii.  sect.  xii. 


*  CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


37 


oeing  actually  governor  at  the  time,  but  as  one  who 
now,  or  at  the  moment  of  his  writing,  in  virtue  of 
having  received  the  preferment  some  time  after¬ 
wards,  had  the  title  affixed  to  his  name ;  and  which 
is  often  'given  to  individuals — even  when  relating 
those  parts  of  their  history,  that  take  place  either 
previous  or  subsequent  to  the  period  of  their  official 
dignity. 

14.  But  not  only,  in  the  progress  of  criticism, 
are  these  contradictions  rapidly  clearing  away,  so 
as  to  present  a  number  that  is  gradually  and  per¬ 
petually  lessening;  but  their  force  is  w'ell  nigh 
disarmed,  in  that  they  seem  now  as  if  lost  and 
overborne,  in  the  affirmative  evidence  of  those 
opposite  harmonies,  which  every  new  labourer  in 
this  field  of  inquiry  is  adding  to  the  list — and  such 
harmonies  too,  as  nothing  but  truth  can  explain. 
.The  richest  collection  of  these  is  to  be  met  with  in 
Lardner,  who — if  we  read  of  the  trials,  or  the 
travels,  or  the  customs,  or  the  controversies,  or 
the  local  and  national  peculiarities,  or  the  varieties 
ot  incident  and  discourse  which  are  recorded  in  the 
New  lestament — finds  in  every  contemporaneous 
author  who  borders  on  the  same  ground,  and  may 
even  have  entered  upon  it,  or  in  the  subjects  of 
which  he  treats,  whether  they  be  Chronology,  or 
Geography,  or  Jurisprudence,  or  History,  or  facts 
and  statistics  of  any  sort — finds  in  every  such 
author,  and  in  every  such  subject,  a  test  or  a 
touchstone  which  he  might  apply  to  the  writings  of 
the  evangelists  and  apostles,  and  by  which  he 
might  determine  the  accuracy  of  their  statements 
or  allusions  both  to  the  circumstances  and  the 


38  CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  * 

events  of  the  period  which  is  described  by  them. 
The  restless  politics  of  that  age— the  perpetual 
cnanges  then  taking  place  in  the  government  of 
provinces,  and  the  territorial  distribution  of  the 
lessei  states,  more  especially  of  Judea — the  limits 
and  respective  functions  of  the  civil  and  military 
power  in  these  subjugated  countries,  adverted  to  so 
frequently  in  Scripture,  and  open  either  to  disproof 
or  confirmation  from  the  well-known  practice  and 
polity  of  the  Romans — these,  and  such  as  these, 
make  up  altogether  a  most  delicate  and  severe 
ordeal,  by  which  to  detect  the  mistakes  of  ignor¬ 
ance,  or  the  misstatements  of  forgery  and  fiction. 
It  is  strikingly  demonstrated  by  Lardner  in  the 
first  part  of  his  Credibility,  how  well  the  wrriters 
of  the  New  Testament  have  stood  this  ordeal. 
W e  can  scarcely  afford  to  offer  any  of  the  parti¬ 
culars  of  that  very  minute  and  statistical  examina¬ 
tion  into  which  he  has  gone.  In  his  chapter  on 
the  Princes  and  Governors  mentioned  in  the  New 
Testament,  the  evangelical  writers  stand  confronted 
chiefly  with  Josephus— both  as  to  the  name  and  title 
and  history  and  period  of  these  ever-shifting  func¬ 
tionaries,  and  as  to  the  limits  of  their  respective 
jurisdictions.  For  one  example  out  of  the  very 
many — when  Herod  who  had  possession  of  the 
whole  country  died,  and  Joseph  the  reputed  father 
of  our  Lord  returned  from  Egypt— he  was  afraid 
of  Archelaus,  who,  in  the  division  that  took  place 
after  his  fathers  death,  was  made  king  of  Judea—, 
and  turned  aside  to  the  parts  of  Galilee,  not  now 
under  the  same  government;  for  Herod  Antipas, 
as  Josephus  tells  us,  was  then  governor  of  Galilee 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


39 


and  Peraea,  and  Philip  of  Trachonitis  and  the 
neighbouring  countries.  Among  the  manifold 
points  of  agreement  that  are  elicited  by  this  com¬ 
parison  between  the  incidental  allusions  of  the 
New  Testament  and  the  direct  informations  of  the 
Jewish  historian,  we  would  instance  the  passage 
which  relates  to  this  Herod  and  which  respects 

both  his  wife  Herodias  and  his  daughter  Salome _ _ 

as  also  the  story  of  another  Herod  mentioned  in 
the  Acts,  who  was  grandson  of  Herod  the  Great, 
who  killed  James,  and  apprehended  Peter,  and 
suffered  a  remarkable  death,  and  which,  as  respects 
all  that  is  ostensible  in  the  testimony  of  Luke, 

is  fully  borne  out  by  the  testimony  of  Josephus _ 

Regarding  this  last  Herod,  there  occurs  what 

may  truly  be  termed  a  very  critical  coincidence _ 

inasmuch  as  Luke  ascribes  to  him,  towards  the 
end  of  his  government,  the  sovereign  power  in 
Judea;  and  it  appears  from  other  sources,  that 
this  power  he  actually  did  exercise,  but  only 

during  the  three  last  years  of  his  life _ We  have 

a  nicety  of  a  still  more  trying  description  in  the 
title  of  Proconsul  given  with  propriety  by  the 
Evangelist,  but  a  propriety  dependent  on  the 
fluctuations  that  were  constantly  taking  place  in 
the  arrangement  and  constitution  of  the  Roman 

provinces _ In  another  chapter  respecting  the 

state  of  the  Jews  and  Judea  during  the  ministry  of 
Christ  and  his  apostles,  the  history  in  the  Gospel 
is  brought  into  contact  at  many  points  with  that 
of  Josephus  and  others.  We  advert  but  to  one 
of  these  instances — the  power  of  life  and  death 
reserved  to  themselves  by  the  Romans,  while  the 


40 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


power  of  the  lesser  punishments  was  suffered  to 
remain  with  the  Jewish  authorities. — It  is  only  for 
the  purpose  of  noticing  the  amount  of  surface  over 
which  this  work  of  comparison  has  been  extended, 
that  we  advert  to  the  title  of  his  next  chapter,  “  of 
the  state  of  the  Jews  out  of  Judea” — whilst  the  title 
of  the  following,  4 4  concerning  the  Jewish  sects  and 
Samaritans,  serves  to  evince  how  crowded  the  four 
Gospels  and  Acts  of  the  Apostles  are  with  the 
materials  of  a  cross-examination  between  their 
respective  authors  and  Josephus.  The  next  suc¬ 
ceeding  chapter  of  the  Jews  and  Samaritans’ 
expectations  and  their  idea  of  the  Messiah,  brings 
even  heathen  authors  into  a  state  of  juxtaposition 
with  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament. — But 
perhaps,  no  passages  of  the  evangelical  history  are 
more  replete  with  this  sort  of  argument,  than  the 
single  chapters  which  retail  the  circumstances  of 
our  Saviour  s  last  sufferings,  where  we  have  the 
names  and  titles  and  respective  powers  of  the 
respective  dignitaries  that  were  concerned  in  this 
solemn  transaction — the  process  of  trial  and  con¬ 
demnation — the  infliction  of  mockery  and  scourging 
that  took  place  before  the  execution— the  bearing 
of  the  cross— the  inscription  of  the  offence  upon 
it  in  three  different  languages,  which  is  fully 
deponed  to  by  classic  authors  as  one  of  the  cus¬ 
toms  of  the  age — the  mockeries  which  He  had  to 
endure  at  the  time  of  the  crucifixion — the  place 
of  it,  without  the  city  of  Jerusalem— the  burial, 
and  Lastly  the  embalming  of  the  body.  Nothing 
can  be  more  artless  or  incidental  than  the  manner, 
m  which  all  these  particulars  are  detailed  by 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


41 


the  Apostles ;  and  yet,  such  testimonies  can  be 
brought  together  both  of  the  Jewish  and  classic 
authors,  as  to  furnish  throughout  the  most  ample 
and  sustained  corroboration — carried  forward,  be¬ 
yond  the  death  and  resurrection,  to  the  accounts 
which  the  New  Testament  gives  of  the  various 
churches  that  were  founded  by  the  first  teachers  of 
Christianity.  Here  we  have  a  chapter  of  close  and 
manifold  communion  between  the  scriptural  and 
the  exscriptural,  in  the  account  it  gives  of  the 
treatment  which  the  apostles  and  other  disciples  of 
Jesus  met  with  both  from  Jews  and  Gentiles. 
The  chapter  which  follows  treats  of  diverse  opinions 
and  practices  of  the  Jews ;  and  we  shall  finish  our 
very  general  description  of  this  vast  and  voluminous 
evidence,  by  the  catalogue  which  Lardner  makes 
of  the  Roman  customs  mentioned  in  the  New  Tes¬ 
tament — First,  the  use  of  the  question  or  of  torture 
for  the  discovery  of  crimes  by  the  Romans — then 
of  their  method  of  examination  by  scourging — 
then  of  the  unlawfulness  of  scourging  a  Roman, 
especially  if  uncondemned — then  of  the  power  which 
Lysias  who  had  Paul  in  custody  held  at  Jerusalem 
— then  of  Paul’s  citizenship — then  of  the  way  in 
which  this  was  obtained  by  purchase — then  of  the 
Roman  justice  in  not  receiving  accusations  in  the 
absence  of  the  person  accused — then  on  the  im¬ 
prisonment  of  St.  Paul — then  on  the  sending  of 
prisoners  to  Rome — and,  lastly,  on  the  practice  of 
their  being  delivered  there  to  the  captain  of  the 
guard.  Within  our  narrow  limits,  we  represent 
most  inadequately  the  power  and  the  abundance  of 
this  argument ;  and  perhaps  it  had  been  better,  for 


42 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


the  purpose  of  impressing  it  on  the  reader,  to  have 
made  a  general  reference  to  Lardner-without  at¬ 
tempting  what  we  have  done  but  slightly,  to  instance 
a  lew  of  the  specimens.  The  number,  the  minute¬ 
ness,  the  circumstantiality  of  the  allusions,  and  the 
manifest  undesignedness  wherewith  they  occur  in 
the  course  of  the  narration— all  serve  to  satisfy  the 
inquirer,  that  a  history  which  touches  the  truth  at 
so  many  points,  could  not  have  done  so  fortuitously 
anc  at  random ;  and  these  coincidences  are  so 
obviously  beyond  the  reach,  or  even  though  within 
possibility  could  so  little  subserve  any  of  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  design,  that  no  other  conclusion  remains 
lor  us_but  that  they  touch  the  truth  at  so  many 
points,  only  .because  they  touch  it  generally  or  at  all 
points;  or  because  truth  is  the  direction  in  which  the 
writers  of  the  New  Testament  move,  the  ground¬ 
work  along  which  the  platform  of  the  gospel  history 
is  laid.  .  I  he  coincidence  with  truth  at  so  many 
places  in  the  absence  of  the  art  that  could  have 
tramed  or  even  of  the  power  that  could  have  accom¬ 
plished  it,  is  the  sure  token  of  an  entire  coincidence. 

15  One  precious  fruit  of  these  investigations  is, 
tuat  they  have  demonstrated,  and  upon  their  own 
new  and  peculiar  evidence  alone,  the  antiquity  of 
the  evangelical  record.  None  but  contemporary 

" 1  lters  cou!d  ha''e  exhibited  so  minute  and  manifold 
an  accuracy,  amid  the  ephemeral  changes,  which, 
m  these,  da>'s  of  incessant  fluctuation,  were  ever 
taking  place  in  the  civil  and  political  arrangements 
of  Judea.  And  what  makes  it  altogether  conclu¬ 
sive  is,  that,  m  a  few  years  after  the  resurrection  of 
our  Saviour,  Jerusalem  was  destroyed  and  the  whole 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


43 


fabric  of  the  Jewish  polity  was  swept  away — so 
that  not  a  fragment  or  a  vestige  of  it  remained. 
On  this  tremendous  event  we  feel  assured,  that  the 
local  practices  and  peculiarities  which  are  so  sta¬ 
tistically  and  truly  set  forth  in  the  New  Testament 
must  have  been  described  by  eye-witnesses,  or  at 
least  during  the  subsistence  of  the  Hebrew  common¬ 
wealth — for  the  memory  of  them  could  not  have 
survived  a  single  generation.  The  unavoidable 
inference  as  to  the  early  publication  of  these  nar¬ 
ratives,  is  of  immense  worth  to  the  Christian  argu¬ 
ment _ proving,  as  it  does,  that  they  made  their 

appearance  at  a  period  far  enough  back,  for  afford¬ 
ing  every  facility,  whether  to  the  confirmation  or 
the  exposure  of  the  miracles  which  are  recorded 
in  them. 

16.  And  there  is  one  great  synchronism,  which, 
singly  and  of  itself,  fixes  the  age  of  the  composition 
of  the  New  Testament ;  and  settles  it  down  to  the 
first  age  of  Christianity.  It  is  such  a  style  as  could 
only  have  proceeded  from  men  of  Hebrew  origin, 
who  wrote  in  Greek,  but  in  a  Greek  tinged  and 
interspersed  with  the  peculiarities  of  their  own 
vernacular  language.  And  accordingly,  it  is  alike 
distinguishable  from  the  language  of  classic  authors, 
and  from  that  of  the  Christian  fathers,  of  the  second 
and  third  centuries.  To  imagine  that  the  innumer¬ 
able  Hebraisms  and  Syriasms  of  the  New  T  estament 
were  interpolated,  or  rather  intertwined  with  the 
whole  structure  of  the  book,  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
giving  a  colour  or  consistency  to  its  reputed  author¬ 
ship  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  were  to  accredit 
some  forger  of  a  later  age,  with  the  most  difficult. 


44 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


if  not  impracticable  of  all  imitations — and  the  more 
as  the  idioms  in  question,  instead  of  being  simply 
inserted  in  the  volume,  are  obviously  incorporated 
or  interwoven  therewith.  It  is  an  infusion  rather 
than  a  mixture  i  and  what  altogether  precludes  the 
theory  of  a  fabrication,  as  aggravating  tenfold  the 
unlikelihood  of  its  ever  being  realized,  is  the  dis¬ 
tinct  and  characteristic  variety  of  style,  which 
appears  in  each  of  the  individual  writers — another 
coincidence,  by  the  way,  between  the  internal  char¬ 
acter  of  the  volume  and  its  external  history.  There 
is  no  mistaking,  for  example,  the  signatures  of  one 
and  the  same  hand  in  the  gospel  of  John  and  in  the 
epistles  which  are  ascribed  to  him.  And  the  same 
remaik  is  applicable  to  the  obvious  mannerism  of 
Paul— in  whose  writings  we  cannot  fail  to  recognize 
the  same  energy,  and  affection,  and  argumentative 
vehemence,  and  abrupt  transitions  of  a  mind  fired 
by  its  subject,  and  overflowing  with  its  fulness  every 
new  channel  which  every  new  suggestion  opens  up 
to  him.  The  argument  is  all  the  more  enhanced 
by  the  peculiarities  that  obtain  in  the  writings  of 
Luke  ;  and  by  the  circumstance  that  Paul,  notwith¬ 
standing  the  peculiarities  of  his  style,  gives  abundant 
evidence  of  that  more  accomplished  literature  and 
general  erudition,  which  harmonize  with  the  ac¬ 
counts  that  are  handed  down  to  us  by  ecclesiastical 
histoiy,  of  his  superior  education  and  opportunities 
to  those  of  the  other  apostles.* 

17.  And  we  have  to  remark  in  this  department 

Michaelis  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament  by  Marsh, 
Edition  4th.  Part  I.  chap.  ii.  sect,  x. 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  45 

too — in  the  external  harmonies  of  scripture  with 
other  and  separate  testimony,  as  well  as  in  its 
internal  harmonies  with  itself — a  great  and  general 
coincidence,  between  the  whole  history  which  it 
unfolds  to  us,  and  all  that  is  known  beside  of  the 
history  of  the  world.  And  the  history  in  the  Bible 
is  the  history  of  the  world ;  but  under  the  peculiar 
aspect,  in  the  language  of  Butler,  of  its  being 
God’s  world.*  He  deduces  a  strong  argument  for 
the  truth  of  scripture,  from  the  immense  number 
of  places  at  which  it  lies  open  to  comparison  with 
profane  history  ;  and  yet  the  manner  in  which  it 
stands  its  ground,  and  bears  to  be  confronted  with 
all  the  informations  and  documents  of  antiquity. 
This  argument  for  the  general  truth  of  scripture 
grows  in  strength  and  intensity,  the  more  intensely 
it  is  reflected  on.  This  book  professes  to  be  an 
account  of  the  world  regarded  as  the  dominion  and 
property  of  God ;  and,  both  in  its  commencement 
and  its  conclusion  as  well  as  its  intermediate  con¬ 
tents,  there  is  a  greatness  altogether  commensurate 
•  to  this  object — beginning  as  it  does  with  the  crea¬ 
tion  of  the  species,  and  ending  with  an  account  of 
the  two  distinct  and  everlasting  destinies  which 
await  the  two  great  divisions  of  the  human  family. 
In  the  conducting  of  this  sublime  narrative,  there 
are  references  to  beings  and  places  external  to  our 
world,  arising  from  the  interchanges  which  are  said 
to  have  taken  place  between  the  visible  and  the 
invisible — the  occasional  visits  from  heaven  to  ea-rth, 
actual  or  alleged — the  inspirations  which  descended 


Analogy,  Part  IL  chap.  vii. 


46 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE 


upon  men ;  and,  in  the  course  of  these  allusions  we 
have  not  only  repeated  notices  of  God,  but  of 
other  orders  of  intelligence  beside  ourselves  and  of 
the  relations  in  which  we  stand  to  them.  Now, 
in  the  glimpses  which  are  thus  afforded  of  an  ex¬ 
tended  moral  economy,  we  are  unable  to  confront 
the  informations  of  scripture,  with  any  independent 
knowledge  of  our  own.  We  have  no  direct  or 
personal  observation  of  angels  and  spirits ;  and  we 
are  not  in  circumstances,  either  for  obtaining  a  con¬ 
firmation  of  the  Bible,  or  of  detecting,  in  its  state¬ 
ments  any  marks  of  imposture — by  comparing  what 
it  tells  of  things  supernal  to  the  world,  with  aught 
that  we  previously  or  originally  know  of  these  things. 

18.  But  the  Scripture  not  only  offers  notices 
and  allusions  in  regard  to  matters  external  to  the 
world ;  it  offers  these  notices  far  more  abundantly 
in  regard  to  matters  that  are  within  the  compass  of 
the  world,  but  external  to  the  church — and  all 
which  matters,  unlike  to  the  former,  were  within 
the  compass  of  human  observation,  and  many  of 
which  have  been  derived  by  historical  transmission 
to  ourselves  in  the  present  day.  The  truth  is, 
that  the  Bible  may  be  said  to  present  us  with 
a  general  outline  of  the  world’s  history — as  con¬ 
sisting  in  the  movement  of  nations,  in  the  rise  and 
fall  of  earth’s  great  empires,  in  the  most  noted 
chronological  eras ;  and  adventuring,  as  it  does, 
both  on  the  names  of  countries,  and  the  monarchs 
that  ruled  over  them,  and  the  manners  that 
characterised  their  people — never  did  imposture, 
if  imposture  indeed  it  be,  so  expose  herself  to  a 
thousand  lights  of  cross-examination;  or  so  multiply 


CONSISTENCY  OF  SCRIPTURE.  47 

her  vulnerable  points,  by  the  daring  and  extended 
sweep,  that  she  has  thus  taken  among  the  affairs 
of  men.  There  is  something  incredible  in  a  com¬ 
pact  or  conspiracy  of  deceivers,  the  scheme  and 
spirit  of  which  were  handed  down  from  one  to 
another  through  a  whole  millenium ;  but  that  one 
and  all  of  them  should  have  sustained  such  a 
general  historic  consistency  through  the  whole  of 
that  period,  that  no  glaring  contradiction  has  yet 
been  detected,  between  the  multitude  of  incidental 
notices  that  the  penmen  of  Scripture  have  made  to 
the  countries  around  Judea,  and  at  a  great  distance 
from  it,  and  the  actual  state  of  the  world — that 
sacred  and  profane  history  should  so  have  harmon¬ 
ized,  as  that  a  consistent  erudition,  made  up  of  an 
immense  variety  of  particulars,  has  actually  been 
raised  and  established  out  of  the  connection* 
between  them — that  there  should  be  such  a  sus¬ 
tained  coincidence  from  the  first  dawnings  of 
history,  and  extended  by  means  of  prophetic  anti¬ 
cipation  to  the  present  day — truly,  apart  from  the 
peculiar  evidence  of  prophecy  altogether,  there  is 
much  in  the  artless  and  unforced  agreements  which 
are  everywhere  spread  over  so  broad  a  surface  of 
comparison,  as  to  stamp  the  strongest  appearance 
of  truth  both  on  the  general  narrative  of  the  bible, 
and  by  implication,  on  the  miraculous  narrative, 
that,  without  the  slightest  appearance  of  ingenuity 
or  elaborate  design,  is  so  incorporated  therewith. 

*  See  Shuckford,  Prideaux,  and  Russel  on  the  connection* 
between  sacred  and  profane  History. 


4 H 


ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THB 


CHAPTER  II. 

On  the  Moral  Evidence  for  the  Truth  of  the 
New  Testament . 

1.  "1  he  argument  of  the  last  chapter  is  of  frequent 
application  in  questions  of  general  criticism ;  and 
upon  its  authority  alone  many  of  the  writers  of 
past  times  have  been  admitted  into  credit,  and 
many  have  been  condemned  as  unworthy  of  it. 
The  numerous  and  correct  allusions  to  the  customs 
and  institutions,  and  other  statistics  of  the  age  in 
which  the  pieces  of  the  New  Testament  profess  to 
have  been  written,  give  evidence  of  their  antiquity. 
The  artless  and  undesigned  way  in  which  these 
allusions  are  interwoven  with -the  whole  history, 
impresses  upon  us  the  perfect  simplicity  of  the 
authors,  and  the  total  absence  of  every  wish  or 
intention  to  palm  an  imposture  upon  the  world. 
And  there  is  such  a  thing,  too,  as  a  general  air 
of  authenticity ;  which,  however  difficult  to  resolve 
into  particulars,  gives  a  very  close  and  powerful 
impression  of  truth  to  the  narrative.  There  is 
nothing  fanciful  in  this  species  of  internal  evidence. 
It  carries  in  it  all  the  certainty  of  experience,  and 
experience  too  upon  a  familiar  and  well-known 
subject,  the  characters  of  honesty  in  the  written 
testimony  of  our  fellow-men.  We  are  often  called 
upon,  in  private  and  every-day  life,  to  exercise  our 
judgment  upon  the  spoken  testimony  of  others, 
and  we  both  feel  and  understand  the  powerful 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


49 


evidence  which  lies  in  the  tone,  the  manner,  the 
circumstantiality,  the  number,  the  agreement  of 
the  witnesses,  and  the  consistency  of  all  the  parti¬ 
culars  with  what  we  already  know  from  other 
sources  of  information.  Now,  it  is  undeniable, 
that  all  those  marks  which  give  evidence  and 
credibility  to  spoken  testimony,  may  also  exist  to 
a  very  impressive  degree  in  written  testimony ; 
and  the  argument  founded  upon  them,  so  far  from 
being  fanciful  or  illegitimate,  has  the  sanction  of  a 
principle  which  no  philosopher  will  refuse)  the 
experience  of  the  human  mind  on  a  subject  on 
which  it  is  much  exercised,  and  which  lies  com¬ 
pletely  within  the  range  of  its  observation. 

2.  We  now  enter  on  the  consideration  of  the 
moral  evidence  for  the  truth  of  the  New  Testament, 
as  gathered,  however,  not  from  the  present  char¬ 
acter  of  the  witnesses,  but  from  the  nature  of  that 
ethical  system  which  they  delivered ;  or,  more 
generally  still,  not  from  themselves  but  from  the 
subject-matter  of  their  testimony.  Doubtless,  we 
may  collect  from  the  performance  itself,  such  marks 
of  truth  and  honesty,  as  entitle  us  to  conclude,  that 
the  human  agents  employed  in  the  construction  of 
this  book  were  men  of  veracity  and  principle. 
But  this  argument  has  already  been  resorted  to,* 
and  a  very  substantial  argument  it  is.  Our 
present  attempt  is  to  found  an  internal  evidence  for 
the  divinity  of  scripture  on  •  the  morality  of  its 
doctrines,  or  the  purity  of  that  moral  light  which 

*  In  Chap.  iii.  of  Book  II.,  where  we  also  adverted  to  the  argu¬ 
ment  of  the  last  chapter,  but  not  with  such  particularity  or  fulness, 
us  to  prevent  our  again  recurring  to  it. 

VOL.  IV.  C 


50 


ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 


beams  from  its  pages ;  and  which,  as  distinguished 
from  other  systems  of  religion,  whether  from 
revengeful  and  licentious  Paganism  on  the  one 
hand,  or  from  a  corrupted  Judaism  on  the  other— 
seems  to  invest  the  New  Testament  with  a  sort  o£ 
celestial  radiance,  and  so  to  be  no  unambiguous 
token  of  the  Heaven  from  whence  it  came. 

3.  But  a  certain  preliminary  question  requires 
to  be  adjusted,  ere  it  is  made  perfectly  clear,  that 
an  internal  evidence  can  be  raised  on  the  superior 
and  recognized  excellence  of  the  Christian  morality. 
For  if  man  be  capable  of  recognizing  this  excellence, 
does  it  not  argue  him  to  be  alike  capable  of  having 
conceived  it  at  the  first,  and  so  of  bringing  it  forth 
originally  to  the  view  and  admiration  of  the  wrnrld  ? 
The  faculty,  one  might  think,  of  discerning  the 
worth  or  goodness  of  any  system,  would  seem  to 
bespeak  the  faculty  of  discovering  or  devising  it. 
If  the  pure  and  perfect  morality  of  the  gospel  be 
now  the  theme  of  universal  acknowledgment,  and 
that  by  minds  of  every  order — why  might  not  some 
mind  of  the  highest  order,  at  the  era  of  its  publi¬ 
cation,  have  been  able  to  originate  the  ethical  system, 
that  was  afterwards  to  command  the  assent  and 
acquiescence  of  the  enlightened  and  the  virtuous 
in  all  ages  ?  The  same  faculties,  it  can  naturally 
be  imagined,  by  which  we  are  enabled  to  appreciate 
the  inherent  truth  and  value  of  any  doctrine,  might 
have  also  suggested  that  doctrine — so  that  not  only 
might  men  have  become  its  obedient  disciples,  but  a 
man  might  have  been  the  inventor  of  it.  In  short,  it 
is  not  perceived,  why  a  thing  of  earthly  recognition, 
might  not  bo  a  tiling  of  earthly  origination  also _ or 


51 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

how  if  man,  in  virtue  of  his  natural  powers,  can 
justly  estimate  the  merits  of  any  practical  code  or 
directory  of  human  conduct,  he  might  not,  in  virtue 
of  the  same  powers,  have  been  competent  to  frame 
it.  It  is  on  this  ground  that  Christianity  might  be 
argued,  notwithstanding  the  lustre  of  its  moral 
superiority  over  every  other  faith,  to  be  still  a  thing 
of  terrestrial  growth ;  and  that  therefore  the  hypo^ 
thesis  of  a  divine  revelation  is  altogether  uncalled  for. 

4.  Now,  in  opposition  to  this,  we  hold  that 
many  are  the  truths,  which  never  could  have 
sprung  up  within  the  mind — but  which,  when 
brought  to  it  from  without,  meet  with  the  full 
consent  and  coalescence  of  the  judgment — and  that 
in  virtue,  not  of  any  external  evidence,  but  of  their 
own  inherent  recommendations.  There  is  many 
a  truth,  the  credibility  of  which  does  not  serve 
to  indicate  it  before  it  is  announced,  but  which 
abundantly  serves  to  recommend  it  afterwards.  It 
may  have  no  such  light  as  shall  guide  the  way  to 
it ;  and  yet  as  much  light,  as  that  it  may  be  seen 
and  recognized  as  truth,  on  the  moment  of  its  being 
presented.  The  intellect  might  remain  in  a  state 
of  darkness  and  dormancy,  as  to  many  a  truth 
which  it  never  could  have  found ;  but  awakened, 
as  if  like  a  candle  by  ignition,  at  the  moment  of 
contact  with  that  truth  when  it  is  told — it,  in  a 
medium  of  vision  thus  created,  might  be  led  to 
discern  things,  and  on  their  own  intrinsic  evidence 
too,  which  it  never  could  have  discovered.  Of 
this  the  experience  of  the  mind  itself  supplies  us 
with _m any  familiar  illustrations.  In  mathematics, 
where  every  doctrine  has  the  ground  of  conviction 


52 


ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  i-'Oil  THE 


within  itself,  how  frequent  are  the  discoveries 
which  could  only  have  been  made  by  the  few,  and 
yet  which  the  many  can  most  completely  and  most 
intelligently  appreciate  ?  There  are  propositions  of 
such  a  particular  description,  that  the  very  state¬ 
ment  of  them  furnishes  the  cipher  for  their  own 
verification ;  and  the  mind  feels  itself  placed  on  a 
distinct  vantage-ground,  when,  instead  of  having  to 
go  forth  in  general  quest  of  that  which  was  altogether 
unknown,  its  now  more  limited  aim  is  to  certify 
that  of  which  it  has  been  specifically  told.  It  is  a 
homely,  but  we  think  an  effective  illustration  of 
this — that  when  desirous  of  joining  in  the  psalmody 
at  church,  but  ignorant  of  the  verses  which  have 
been  given  out,  we  are  unable  to  collect  from  the 
general  voice  of  the  congregation,  the  articulate 
sounds  to  which  they  are  jointly  giving  utterance. 
Yet  when  directed  to  the  place,  we  can  instantly 
recognize  the  coincidence  between  the  notes  in  the 
music  and  the  syllables  in  the  lines  that  have  been 
pointed  out  to  us.  It  is  thus  also  that  a  prophecy, 
respecting  the  fulfilment  of  which  we  are  utterly 
in  the  dark  before  hand,  might  be  cleared  up  after¬ 
wards — the  coincidence  between  predictions  and 
events  which  we  could  never  have  discovered,  or 
perhaps  even  guessed  at,  becoming  manifest  as  day, 
on  the  means  of  comparison  being  brought  within 
our  reach,  when  both  are  set  before  us.  On  the 
same  principle  too,  we  shall  be  able  to  explain  that 
powerful  and  peculiar  evidence  of  which  we  are  told 
in  scripture,  when  it  speaks  of  the  manifestation  of 
the  truth  unto  the  conscience.  But  our  inquiry 
at  present,  is  whether  the  moral  system  of  the  Bible 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


53 


might  not  be  the  object  of  man’s  most  intelligent 
approval,  although  he  could  neither  have  discovered 
nor  devised  it — or  whether,  though  now  abundantly 
met  by  the  acknowledgments  of  an  enlightened 
human  sympathy,  it  did  not  require  for  its  first  intro¬ 
duction  into  the  world  a  super-human  revelation. 

5.  The  apparent  diversities  of  moral  sentiment 
among  men,  have  been  well  accounted  for  by  those 
ethical  writers  who  contend  that  the  standard  of 
duty  is  one  and  immutable  notwithstanding ;  and 
that,  not  objectively  in  itself  alone,  but  subjectively, 
or  so  as  that  all  men  have  the  same  moral  nature, 
and  would  agree  in  all  their  moral  perceptions  of 
virtue,  if  brought  under  the  same  moral  tution — 
insomuch  that,  to  be  owned  universally,  it  only 
needs  to  be  promulgated  universally,  and  in  such 
circumstances  as  might  ensure  the  serious  and 
sustained  attention  of  all  men.*  There  are 
seeming  exceptions  to  this,  in  the  state  both  of 
individuals  and  nations — in  the  one,  when  conscience 
is  perverted  by  the  sophistry  of  the  passions,  or, 
if  not  extinguished,  brought  to  utter  stupefaction, 
by  the  headlong  and  reckless  indulgence  of  them — 
in  the  other,  when  some  urgent  and  generally  felt 
interest  associates  whole  communities  in  some 
practice  or  sentiment  that  nevertheless  is  at  war 
with  the  common  sense  of  humanity.  It  is  thus 
that  we  can  imagine,  among  the  families  of  a 
smuggling  village,  or  of  a  piratical  state,  or  even 
of  a  large  commercial  city,  in  civilized  and  enlight¬ 
ened  Christendom,  which  owes  its  wealth  and 

*  See  our  Natural  Theology,  Book  III.,  Chap,  ii.,  Art,  18—23, 


54 


ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 


pre-eminence  to  the  guilty  horrors  of  the  slave- 
trade — we  can  imagine  a  very  slender  comprehension 
among  them,  of  the  unlawfulness  of  their  respective 
vocations.  And  this  epidemic  peculiarity,  extending 
to  whole  societies  of  men,  is  greatly  enhanced  by 
the  sympathy  of  a  common  feeling  and  a  common 
interest  in  the  midst  of  them — so  as  to  account  for 
those  aberrations  from  a  universal  morality,  by 
which  whole  countries  and  whole  ages  of  the  world 
have  been  characterized.  It  is  thus  that  in  those 
tribes  and  nations  which  have  to  maintain  a  con¬ 
tinued  struggle  for  their  existence,  revenge  and 
rapacity  are  canonized  as  virtues — the  obligations 
of  a  general  equity  being  lost  and  overborne, 
in  the  obligations  of  a  contracted  patriotism. 
Whether  we  look  to  the  cruelties  of  Indian  warfare, 
or  to  the  guilty  conquests  of  Rome,  we  find,  not 
that  the  obligations  of  an  unchangeable  morality 
have  ever  been  formally  renounced,  but  that  they 
have  been  lost  sight  of  and  forgotten  for  centuries 
together,  in  the  dazzling  images  of  a  nation’s  glory 
and  a  nation’s  weal.  Apart  from  such  influences 
as  these — apart  from  the  darkening  and  disturbing 
forces  that  we  have  now  specified — we  could  obtain 
the  same  assent  to  the  same  lessons  of  piety  and 
truth  and  justice  and  universal  philanthropy  all  the 
world  over.  But  the  question  is,  who,  in  the 
strength  and  prevalence  of  a  wide-spread  delusion, 
who  is  to  originate  these  lessons  ?  We  can  under¬ 
stand  how,  should  these  forces  be  suspended — how, 
when  the  spirit  of  a  man,  arrested  and  solemnized 
and  recalled  for  a  season  from  those  influences 
which  have  so  long  perverted  and  enthralled  it  by 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


55 


a  voice  from  ivithout — liow  it  should  respond  to 
the  voice ;  and  the  light  of  conscience,  thus  resus¬ 
citated  and  restored,  should  meet  and  be  in  harmony 
with  the  external  light  that  has  awakened  it.  But 
still  the  question  recurs,  who  lifted  that  voice  at 
the  first ;  and  whence,  or  in  what  quarter,  did  the 
light  arise  ?  Both  in  the  Islands  of  the  South 
Sea,  and  in  the  North  American  wilderness — large 
portions  of  the  territory  have  been  reclaimed ;  and 
the  men  formerly  of  savage  life,  whose  consciences 
had  lain  in  a  state  of  dormancy  and  delusion  from 
time  immemorial,  are  now  awake  to  the  pure 
morality  of  the  Gospel — not  howrever  in  virtue  of 
a  light  that  sprung  up  among  themselves,  but  of  a 
light  brought  to  them  by  missionaries  from  afar. 
Thus  it  is,  we  historically  know,  that  the  local 
darkness  in  every  particular  country  of  the  world 
has  been  dissipated — by  a  visitation  from  abroad, 
by  a  movement  from  some  region  of  light  to  this 
region  of  barbarism.  This  gives  a  sort  of  experi¬ 
mental  solution  to  the  question — whence  did  light 
break  in  upon  the  world  at  the  first;  or  at  the 
period  of  its  universal  darkness,  when  that  pure 
and  perfect  system  of  morality,  the  introduction  of 
which  requires  to  be  accounted  for,  was  nowhere 
to  be  found — how  and  from  what  quarter,  must 
it  not  have  been  from  beyond  the  world,  that  the 
invasion  was  first  made  ?*  “  When  darkness 

covered  the  earth  and  gross  darkness  the  people, 

*  The  first  origin  of  civilization  in  the  world  is  a  controversy 
charged  with  principle.  If  history,  which  it  seems  to  do,  counte¬ 
nance  or  confirm  the  assertion  that  it  never  arose  spontaneously  in 
any  nation — this  points  strongly  to  the  conclusion  of  a  primary 
{revelation. 


56 


ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 


the  Lord,”  it  is  said,  cc  shall  arise  upon  thee, 
and  his  glory  shall  be  seen  upon  thee.”  “  When 
the  people  which  sat  in  darkness  saw  great 
light,  when  on  them  which  sat  in  the  region  and 
shadow  of  death  the  light  shone” — did  it  spring  up 
from  the  earth  itself,  or  was  it  a  supernal  light 
which  shone  over  them  ?  Might  it  not  have  been  a 
super-human  light,  although  it  met  with  a  reflection 
in  human  bosoms  ?  Might  it  not  have  been  a 
super-human  voice  that  first  gave  utterance  to  those 
lessons  of  highest  virtue,  although  it  called  forth  a 
response  and  an  echo  from  the  consciences  of  men  ? 

6.  It  might  help  us  to  pronounce  on  this  ques¬ 
tion  all  the  more  confidently,  if  we  look  to  the 

state  of  the  Jews  at  the  time  of  our  Saviour to 

their  exclusive,  their  inveterately  national  principle, 
and  contrast  it  with  the  more  generous  and  expan¬ 
sive  principle  of  our  own  Christianity — the  one 
being  obviously  a  system  for  a  nation,  the  other  as 
obviously  a  system  for  the  species.  Who,  it  may 
be  repeated,  could  be  the  first  author  of  such  an 
enlargement  ?  It  follows  not  from  any  distinction 
of  ours  between  the  ethics  and  the  objects  of 
revelation,  that,  however  competent  for  humanity 
to  own  the  lesson,  it  was  therefore  competent  for 
humanity  to  have  framed  it — and,  more  especially, 
cumbered,  as  the  universal  mind  of  society  then 
was,  by  the  weight  of  those  prejudices  which  it  was 
called  upon  to  renounce.  The  light  which  appears 
in  the  very  midst  of  this  darkness,  could  not,  we 
apprehend,  have  been  originated  there.  In  the 
history  of  the  apostles  themselves,  we  recognize 
the  slowness  and  the  extreme  difficulty  of  its 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  57 

Teception,  by  a  merely  Jewish  understanding-, 
which,  though  at  length  brought  to  acquiesce  in 
the  system,  could  never  have  devised  it.  In  the 
very  nature  of  that  system,  and  more  especially 
when  taken  in  connexion  with  the  circumstances  in 
which  it  arose,  wre  have  an  internal  evidence  for 
the  divinity  of  its  origin.  To  teach  that  which  is 
not  only  repugnant  to  the  taste,  but  at  variance 
with  all  the  hereditary  and  long  established  notions 
of  society — to  have  germinated,  in  the  heart  of  a 
dark  and  narrow  region,  a  system  of  morality, 
that  conflicted  at  the  time  with  all  which  was  im¬ 
mediately  around  it,  but  now  receives  the  homage 
of  every  enlightened  and  well-exercised  spirit  in 
Christendom — such  a  phenomenon  closely  approxi¬ 
mates  to  a  miracle,  or  rather  possesses  all  the 
characters  of  an  event  as  extraordinary.  If  to 
do  that  which  is  beyond  human  strength  be  a 
miracle  of  power,  and  to  prophesy  that  which  is 
beyond  human  foresight  be  a  miracle  of  knowledge 
— then  for  a  carpenter  of  Galilee  to  have  taught, 
or  for  fishermen  of  Galilee  to  have  promulgated 
that  which  was  beyond  human  discovery,  and  surely 
beyond  all  the  means  and  likelihoods  of  a  discovery 
by  them,  this  may  well  be  termed  a  miracle  of 
science  or  a  miracle  of  sentiment. 

7.  This  conclusion  is  greatly  strengthened, 
when  we  attend  in  detail  to  the  moralities  of  the 
Gospel — and,  more  especially,  to  those  of  its  original 
moralities  which  may  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  a 
protest  against,  not  merely  the  universal  practice, 
but  till  then  the  universal  sense  and  feelings  of 
mankind.  Its  nrescribed  love  of  enemies — its  law 

c  2 


58  ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 

of  universal  purity,  extending  to  the  imaginations 
of  the  heart  as  well  as  to  the  overt  acts  of  the 
history — its  moral  estimation  of  the  superiority 
which  lies  in  the  desires  and  purposes  of  the  inner, 
over  the  deeds  and  observations  of  the  outer  man 
— its  equal  and  diffusive  benevolence,  without  the 
abjuration  at  the  same  time  of  those  relative  sym¬ 
pathies  which  bind  together  the  members  of  the 
same  family — its  high  standard  of  charity,  the  love 
of  one’s  neighbour  as  one’s  self;  and  withal,  the 
extension  of  this  neighbourhood  so  as  to  embrace 
the  men  of  other  climes  and  other  countries  than 
our  own,  embracing  all  in  fact  as  we  have  the 
opportunity — its  respect  for  rank  and  yet  the 
honour  in  which  it  requires  us  to  hold  all  men,  so 
as  to  maintain  unbroken  the  distinctions  of  civil 
life  while  it  dignifies  and  exalts  the  very  humblest 
of  the  species — the  equal  estimation  in  which  it 
holds  rich  and  poor  on  the  high  scale  of  immortality, 
and  yet  the  homage  which  it  pays  to  nobility  and 
office,  giving  to  this  world’s  authority  all  its  prero¬ 
gatives  while  reserving  for  the  objects  and  interests 
of  another  world  all  their  immeasurable  value — its 
self-denial — its  profound  humility  and  self-abase¬ 
ment — its  renunciation  of  pleasure  arid  ambition 
and  vanity — its  walk  of  faith  rather  than  of  sight — 
its  just  comparison  of  the  magnitude  of  time  with 
that  of  eternity — above  all,  its  entire  subordination 
to  God  whom  it  teaches  us  supremely  to  love  and 
implicitly  to  obey — These  are  the  leading  charac¬ 
teristics  of  the  morality  of  the  Gospel,  new  to  the 
wrorld  at  the  time  of  its  publication,  however  fitted 
to  recommend  itself  to  the  moral  nature,  not 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  59 

extinct  though  under  obliteration,  given  to  men  at 
the  first  and  coeval  with  the  species.  And  not 
only  is  this  the  morality  which  most  approves  itself 
to  the  calm  and  enlightened  judgment  of  men, 
but,  in  act  and  in  experience,  is  it  found  to  be  the 
best  for  the  happiness  of  the  world — a  regimen  of 
peace  and  charity  and  righteousness  that  of  itself 
would  turn  earth  into  heaven;  and  when  once 
universal,  which  it  is  its  obvious  tendency  at  length 
to  become,  then,  in  the  great  and  glorious  renova¬ 
tion  that  ensues,  the  brightest  visions  of  prophecy 
will  be  fully  realized.  The  same  gospel  which 
gladdens  every  heart  and  every  family  that  it 
enters,  would  turn  the  dwelling-place  of  every 
nation  whom  it  christianizes  into  a  gladsome  land ; 
and,  when  once  commensurate  with  the  globe  and 
of  complete  operation  on  all  who  live  in  it,  it 
would  revive  and  regenerate  the  whole  earth. 
Other  codes  and  other  constitutions  have  been 
framed  for  the  separate  countries  of  the  world, 
and  they  tell  the  wisdom  of  their  respective  but 
earthly  legislators;  but  this,  in  its  characters 
alike  of  goodness  and  of  greatness,  and  withal  of 
boundless  application,  obviously  announces  itself 
as  the  code  of  humanity — and  bespeaks  the  com¬ 
prehensive  wisdom  of  Him,  who,  devising  for  all 
times  and  for  all  people,  is  the  Legislator  of  the 
species.  It  is  not  the  workmanship  of  a  few 
peasants  in  Judea.  The  perfection  of  its  moral 
characteristics,  the  greatness  and  perpetuity  of  its 
results— both  speak  to  us  of  a  different  fountain* 
head,  and  decisively  point  to  us  the  celestial  origin 
whence  it  must  have  sprung. 


60 


ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 


8.  But  beside  these  more  general  attributes 
which  belong  to  the  morality  of  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  there  are  certain  tests  of  exceeding  delicacv 
which  serve  to  mark  the  discrimination  of  its 
Author — the  profoundness  of  Idis  wisdom,  andnever 
more  than  when  exemplified  in  cases  of  actual 
occurrence.  The  first  specimen  of  this  which 
offers  itself  to  our  recollection,  is  the  occasion, 
when  an  expensive  ointment  was  poured  on  the 
head  of  the  Saviour,  and  Judas  remonstrated 
because  of  that  being  wasted,  which  might  have 
been  sold  and  its  price  given  to  the  poor.  If  there 
be  one  characteristic  of  the  Gospel  more  prominent 
than  another,  it  is  the  tenderness  of  its  care  and 
consideration  for  tne  poor — not  in  the  form  how¬ 
ever  of  a  headlong  affection,  but  subject,  as  every 
other  affection  ought  to  be  under  a  system  not  of 
moral  feeling  alone  but  of  moral  tuition,  to  the 
qualifications  of  wisdom  and  principle.  Our  Saviour 
vindicates  the  application  that  was  made  of  the 
precious  ointment;  and  thus  lets  us  know  that  there 
are  other  impulses  beside  compassion  for  the  poor, 
which,  in  their  right  place  and  on  fitting  occasions, 
should  in  their  turn  be  obeyed.  And  an  expression 
of  reverence  and  respect  for  a  divine  messenger 
was  one  of  these  occasions.  There  are  certain 
short-sighted  philanthropists  who  would  set  up  the 
plea  of  humanity  to  the  poor  in  opposition  to  every 
cause;  and  who,  under  the  guise  perhaps  the 
reality  of  a  sympathetic  regard  for  them,  would 
lay  an  arrest  on  other  good  works,  not  only  of 
more  urgent  principle  and  necessity  at  the  time, 
but  tenfold  more  beneficial  in  point  of  effect  It 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


61 


is  thus  that  the  expenses,  even  the  most  needful 
expenses  of  Christianity  have  been  looked  to  with 
an  evil  eye ;  and  not  only  would  the  decency,  still 
more  the  dignity,  of  its  temple  services  be  grudged 
for  the  reason  alleged  by  him  who  betrayed  its 
a.ithor — but,  on  the  same  ground  too,  have  we 
heard  both  the  cost  of  religious  education  for  our 
families  at  home,  and  the  cost  of  a  missionary 
apparatus  for  the  people  abroad,  made  alike  the 
subjects  of  a  most  virulent  declamation.  And 
there  are  other  expenses  beside  those  which  sub¬ 
serve  the  well-being  of  the  soul,  that  relief  for  the 
wants  of  the  body  ought  not  to  supersede — the 
expense  of  justice — the  expense  of  government — 
the  expense  even  of  upholding  in  becoming  state 
and  splendour  the  offices  of  magistracy — all  which, 
as  connected  with  right  sentiment  as  well  as  the 
real  interests  of  human  society,  would  seem  to  be 
warranted  by  this  example  of  our  Saviour — even 
in  the  face  of  that  exclusive  preference  for  the  poor 
which  some  would  allege  in  argument  for  doing 
them  away.  Little  have  they  reflected  on  the 
ruinous  effect,  on  the  fatal  certainty,  wherewith  it 
would  extend  and  sorely  aggravate  the  poverty  of 
our  land — were  the  whole  wealth  of  the  country 
turned  into  one  undiverted  and  undivided  stream 
towards  the  object  of  relieving  it.  And  it  marks 
we  have  often  thought,  not  only  a  sound  discrimi¬ 
nation  on  the  part  of  our  first  Christian  teachers, 
but  their  wisdom,  the  reach  and  comprehensiveness 

of  their  wisdom  in  the  foresight  of  consequences _ _ 

that,  while  every  positive  sanction  is  given  by  them 
to  the  virtue  of  liberality,  they  have  not  left  it 


62  OX  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  TUB 

• 

unassociated  with  the  prudence  and  the  principle 
by  which  all  its  exercises  ought  to  be  guarded.  The 
refusal  of  the  twelve  apostles  to  continue  their 
services  in  the  distribution  of  the  common  fund  for 
the  poor,  and  that  because  of  the  better  services 
by  which  they  were  occupied,  evince,  not  their 
disinterestedness  alone,  but  their  enlightened  judg¬ 
ment,  in  that  they  thought  it  a  far  higher  walk  of 
benevolence  to  instruct  the  poor  than  to  relieve 
them.  In  striking  and  remarkable  contrast  with 
this  is  the  conduct  of  Paul — who,  while  his  brethren 
in  the  ministry  refused  to  join  in  the  work  of 
distribution,  because  of  its  encroachment  on  the 
peculiar  business  of  their  Apostleship,  he  made 
large  encroachment  thereupon,  by  mixing  with  the 
labours  of  an  Apostle  the  labours  of  a  tent-maker, 
and  so  working  with  his  own  hands  rather  than 
that  he  should  be  burdensome.  And  this  he  did, 
we  are  told,  that  he  might  b*  an  example  to  others, 
In  being  able  to  say  that  with  his  own  hands  he 
lad  ministered  to  his  own  necessities.  There  are 
some  who  appear  to  look  on  alms-giving  as  the 
highest  exercise  of  charity ;  but  here  we  are  most 
impressively  told,  that  a  higher  charity  still  is  to 
teach  the  people  to  be  independent  of  alms¬ 
giving.  The  same  lesson  is  reiterated  by  Paul  in 
his  correspondence  with  the  churches.  “  If  any 
refuse  to  work  neither  should  he  eat.”  “  If  any 
provide  not  for  his  own  house,  he  hath  denied  the 
faith  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel.”  Nothing  can 
be  more  obvious  than  his  contempt  for  money,  or 
rather,  his  contempt  for  the  sordid  affection  of 
covetousness — when  he  urges  on  every  possessor 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


63 


of  wealth  its  best  and  most  rightful  application, 
whether  at  one  time  for  the  relief  of  the  poor 
saints,  or  at  another  for  the  expenses  of  the  ministry 
of  the  Gospel.  But  there  is  withal  so  much  of 
manly  sense,  and  so  little  of  weak  sentimentalism 
— such  an  equal  and  impartial  dealing  with  all 
ranks,  charging  the  rich  that  they  should  be  ready 
to  distribute  and  willing  to  communicate,  charging 
the  poor  to  be  industrious  and  contented  and  if 
possible  independent  of  charity — such  a  care  lest 
his  infant  society  should  suffer  from  the  contami¬ 
nations  of  that  hypocrisy  which  would  “  make  a 
gain  of  godliness” — such  a  preference  for  that 
system  of  helping  the  poor,  which  teaches  them, 
by  their  own  exertions  and  economy  and  good 
conduct,  to  help  themselves — in  a  word,  along 
with  the  tenderness,  the  undoubted  feeling  which 
prompted  his  benevolence,  such  a  power  and  pre¬ 
dominance  of  wholesome  judgment  in  all  his  minis¬ 
trations  of  it — as  bespeaks,  not  only  the  enlightened 
moralist,  but  the  enlightened  political  economist 
also.  In  the  directions  given  by  him,  for  the 
management  of  the  pauperism  of  these  days,  there 
is  the  profoundest  insight,  both  into  motives  and 
consequences — insomuch,  that,  from  the  epistles 
which  he  has  left  behind  him,  we  might  draw  a 
system  of  rules  and  principles,  which,  though  the 
product  of  so  early  and  rude  an  age,  might  not 
only  serve  for  the  guidance  of  particular  churches, 
but  is  of  best  possible  adaptation  to  the  general 
and  complicated  society  of  modern  times.  This 
adaptation  is  of  itself  an  argument  for  the  wisdom 
of  Christianity ;  and  it  amounts  to  a  miracle,  when 


64 


ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 


we  connect  it  with  the  first  teachers  of  Christianity, 
and  think  of  a  wisdom  so  singular  so  original,  in 
the  mind,  whether  of  the  tent-maker  of  Tarsus  or 
of  the  fishermen  of  Galilee. 

9.  But  in  these  days  there  occurred  questions  of 
still  greater  perplexity,  in  the  solution  of  which 
Paul  discovers  a  sagacity  and  a  soundness  of  prin¬ 
ciple  still  more  marvellous.  We  would  instance 
his  deliverance  on  marriage/  which  he  permits  as 
an  indulgence,  but  prescribes  not  as  a  duty— a 
sentence  in  which  many  of  our  household  moralists, 
and  many  even  of  those  economists  who  devise  for 
the  well-being  not  of  a  family  but  of  a  kingdom  at 
large,  would  not  altogether  sympathize.  We  would 
instance  also  his  sound  decision  on  the  question  of 
slavery/— unlike,  we  do  think,  to  the  headlong  the 
precipitate  zeal  of  many  modern  philanthropists, 
when  he  enjoins  on  the  children  of  a  hapless  servi¬ 
tude,  both  respect  for  their  masters,  and  an  acqui¬ 
escence  in  their  state,  but  a  preference  withal  for 
a  state  of  enlargement,  which,  when  it  may  be  had, 
he  tells  them  to  “  use  it  rather.”  But  on  no  occa¬ 
sion  does  he  evince  a  wisdom  that  looks  more  like 
the  wisdom  of  inspiration,  than  in  his  treatment  of 
certain  peculiar  questions  which  arose  from  the 
admission  of  the  Gentiles  into  the  Church  of  Christ, 
and  their  consequent  union  with  the  Jews  in  one 
and  the  same  society.  There  is  nothing  to  be 
more  admired  in  Paul  than  the  skill,  even  the 
dexterity,  wherewith  he  unravels  the  casuistry  of 
these  questions— not  of  broad  and  obvious  principle, 

*  1  Cor.  vii.  7,  17,  28,  32—35. 


1  Cor.  vii.  21 — 24. 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


65 


but  all  the  more  delicate  and  difficult  of  manage¬ 
ment,  that  they  related  altogether  to  certain 
minuter  observances  of  meats  and  ceremonies  and 
days.  It  is  impossible  to  withhold  our  homage 
from  the  superior  and  enlightened  way  in  which 
the  Apostle  treats  these  questions  of  indifferency  with 
the  command  of  a  master,  whose  own  conscience 
had  strength  and  enlargement  enough  for  either 
alternative — but,  at  the  same  time,  with  the  tender¬ 
ness  of  a  fellow  Christian  which  prompted  the 
utmost  respect  and  forbearance  for  the  scrupulosi¬ 
ties  of  other  and  weaker  men.  He  had  a  difficult 
part  to  act  between  Jews  and  Christians,  in  being 
all  things  to  all  men — not,  it  is  quite  palpable,  for 
any  end  of  selfishness,  but  for  the  sake  of  the 
furtherance  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  thus  that  he  who 
fought  so  manfully  for  the  exemptions  and  privileges 
of  his  Gentile  converts,  would  not  himself  eat  flesh 
while  the  world  standeth,  if  it  wounded  the  con¬ 
scientious  prejudices  of  a  brother  or  made  him  to 
offend.  In  the  exercise  of  his  apostolic  wisdom, 
he  was  called  upon  to  give  sentence  on  many  of 
these  points  of  lesser  observation ;  but  he  always 
did  it  so  as  to  sustain  Christianity  in  all  its  char¬ 
acters  of  greatness,  to  vindicate  and  manifest  it  as 
being  a  religion  not  of  points,  but  of  principles. 
And  accordingly,  when  he  recommended  compliance 
in  these  matters  of  insignificance,  he  did  it  on  a 
clear  principle — the  principle  of  charity.  And 
when  he  contended  for  liberty  it  was  on  a  prin¬ 
ciple  alike  clear — even  that  of  an  enlightened 
piety  which  holds  the  obedience  of  the  heart,  as 
consisting  of  love  to  God  and  man,  to  be  the  alone 


66  ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 

indispensable  obedience.  If  one  regarded  a  day, 
enough  if  he  regarded  it  unto  the  Lord.  If  another 
regarded  not  the  day,  enough  if  to  the  Lord  he 
did  not  regard  it.  We  have  long  thought  that 
there  is  an  identity  of  principle  between  these  solu¬ 
tions  of  the  Apostle,  and  the  solutions  which  should 
be  given  now  on  certain  indeterminate  and  not  very 
determinable  questions,  that  exercise,  and  often 
agitate  and  perplex,  the  minds  of  Christians  in  the 
present  day.  We  mean  those  questions  which 
respect  the  precise  style  and  circumstantials  of 
Sabbath  observation,  as  well  as  the  precise  degree 
in  which  the  true  disciples  of  Christianity  might 
externally  associate  with  the  world  or  take  part  in 
its  companies  and  amusements.  It  were  well  to 
irradiate  all  these  topics  with  the  light  of  great  and 
unquestionable  principle — that,  instead  of  degrading 
Christianity  into  a  system  of  petty  exactions  urged 
with  senseless  and  intolerant  dogmatism,  it  might 
sustain  throughout  the  character  of  that  wisdom 
which  is  justified  “of  its  children.”  Now  Paul 
accomplished  this  service  in  his  wise  and  right 
adjustment  of  the  controversies  of  that  period. 
He  both  accommodated  the  Jews  to  the  uttermost 
possibility,  yet  rescued  the  Gospel  from  the  little¬ 
ness,  the  puerility  of  narrow  and  illiberal  Judaism. 
When  men  pass  from  one  extreme  to  another,  they 
betray,  in  general,  a  like  unqualified  vehemence  in 
both.  But  when  Paul,  brought  up  in  the  straitest 
ol  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees,  passed  from  this  yoke 
of  bondage  to  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  had 
made  him  free,  he  was  not  transported  thereby 
into  any  unbridled  or  unmanageable  ardour  of  this 


THUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  67 

sort.  He  partitioned  the  matter  aright  between 
the  prejudices  of  the  old  and  the  privileges  of  the 
new  economy ;  and  the  utterance  his  temperate 
yet  decided  judgments,  while  it  bespeaks  the 
enlargement,  bespeaks  also  the  guidance  and  the 
restraints  of  inspiration. 

10.  This  reasoning  might  be  prosecuted  further. 
Other  examples  might  be  given  in  detail,  of  high 
wisdom  and  principle,  not  humanly  to  be  expected 
in  the  state  and  circumstances  of  the  Apostles — 
and  which,  therefore,  as  bordering  on  the  mira¬ 
culous,  or  perhaps  as  fully  realizing  this  character, 
might  well  be  proposed  as  distinct  credentials  for 
the  divinity  of  the  New  Testament.  But  the 
morality  of  the  gospel  might  be  viewed  in  another 
light,  than  merely  as  an  exhibition  on  the  part  of 
its  messengers — approving  themselves  to  be  singu¬ 
larly,  and  perhaps,  supernaturally  gifted  men.  It 
might  be  viewed  in  immediate  connexion  with  God 
— or  held  as  a  demonstration,  at  least  as  a  likeli¬ 
hood  of  having  proceeded  from  Him,  with  whose 
character  it  is  in  such  full  and  marvellous  accord¬ 
ance.  For  that  system  of  virtue  which  recom¬ 
mends  itself  to  the  consciences  of  men,  must  also 
recommend  itself  to  their  notions  of  the  Godhead. 
The  chief  argument  of  nature,  as  we  have  already 
attempted  to  prove,  for  the  character  of  the 
Divinity,  is  the  character  of  that  law  which  has 
been  graven  by  His  own  hands  on  the  tablet  of  our 
moral  nature.  That  to  which  we  do  homage  in 
the  system  of  virtue,  is  also  that  to  which  we  do 
homage  in  God  as  the  living  exemplar  of  it — and 
on  the  principle  that  Himself  must  be  adorned  bv 


68  ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 

the  virtues  which  He  has  taught  us  to  admire.  It 
is  thus  that  we  personify  the  ethical  system  into  a 
Being ;  or  pass  from  the  character  of  the  law  to 
the  character  of  the  Lawgiver.  We  fully  esteem 
and  accredit  God  as  author  of  the  law  of  conscience ; 
and  should  it  correspond  with  the  law  of  a  profest 
revelation,  more  especially  if  it  be  a  revelation  by 
which  the  conscience  itself  has  been  greatly  enlight¬ 
ened  and  enlarged,  do  we  recognise  the  probability  at 
least  if  not  the  certainty  of  its  having  come  from  God. 

11.  But  we  can  imagine  more  than  this.  We 
can  imagine  a  reader  of  the  Bible  to  be  visited  with 
the  resistless  yet  legitimate  conviction,  amounting 
to  a  strongly  felt  and  immediate  sense  that  God 
has  spoken  to  him  there — insomuch  that  he  feels 
himselt  to  be  in  as  direct  correspondence  with  God 
uttering  His  own  words  to  him,  as  with  an  earthly 
friend,  when  engaged  in  the  perusal  of  a  letter 
which  he  knows  to  be  the  authentic  production  of 
him  from  whom  it  professes  to  have  come.  It  may 
be  difficult  to  convince  those  who  have  never  thus 
been  visited  by  any  such-  direct  or  satisfying  revela¬ 
tion,  that  there  is  no  fancy  or  fanatical  illusion  in 
the  confidence  of  those  who  profess  to  have  been 
ina,de  the  subjects  of  it.  And  yet  they  may  be 
helped  to  conceive  aright  of  it  by  certain  illustra¬ 
tions.  Those  Jews  who  heard  our  Saviour  and 
testified  that  He  spake  as  one  having  authority,  had 
at  first  hand  an  argument  for  His  divine  mission 
which  they  could  not  adequately  survey  or  explain 
the  grounds  of  to  another.  rJ  he  officers  of  the 
Sanhedrim  who  were  sent  to  apprehend  Jesus  yet 
refrained  from  touching  Him,  44  because,”  as  they 


NMY  TESTAMENT. 


69 


TKt'TIi  or  Tin: 

reported,  “  never  man  spake  like  this  man,”  had 
also  an  evidence,  which,  however  powerfully  and 
warrantably  felt  in  their  own  minds,  they  could  not 
by  any  statement  pass  entire  into  the  minds  of  other 
men.  The  centurion  who  was  present  at  the  cruci¬ 
fixion  of  the  Saviour,  and  who  from  what  he  heard 
and  saw  of  the  tone  and  aspect  and  manner  of  the 
divine  sufferer,  testified  that  surely  this  was  the  Son 
of  God — -may  have  received,  through  the  vehicle  of 
his  senses,  a  deep  and  a  just  persuasion,  which  yet 
by  no  testimony  of  his  could  be  borne  with  full 
effect,  and  so  as  to  give  the  same  persuasion  to 
those  who  were  distant  from  the  scene.  And,  in 
like  manner,  the  men  who  were  not  able  to  resist 
the  spirit  and  the  wisdom  wherewith  Stephen 
spake,  may  have  felt  a  great  deal  more  than  they 
could  tell — yet  not  a  groundless  or  imaginative 
feeling,  but  a  rightful  impression,  which  it  would 
have  been  well  if  they  had  acted  on,  that  he  spake 
with  the  truth  and  authority  of  an  inspired  man. 
In  all  these  cases,  we  admit  the  possibility  of  such 
tokens  having  been  exhibited,  as  might  give  to  the 
parties  who  were  present  a  strong  and  intimate 
persuasion,  not  the  less  solid,  that  it  was  only  felt 
by  themselves  and  incommunicable  to  others.  The 
solitary  visitant  of  some  desert  and  before  unex¬ 
plored  island,  has  as  good  reason  for  believing  in 
the  reality  of  the  scenes  and  spectacles  before  him, 
though  no  other  eyes  ever  witnessed  them  but  his 
own.  And  so  too,  in  the  person  of  a  celestial 
messenger,  there  might,  for  aught  we  know,  be 
such  real  though  indescribable  symptoms  of  the 
character  wherewith  he  is  invested — such  undoubted 


70  ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 


signatures  of  wisdom  and  authority  and  truth _ 

such  a  thorough  aspect  of  sacredness — such  traits  of 
a  divinity  in  every  look  and  every  utterance — that, 
though  not  capable  of  being  made  the  subject  of  a 
public  argument,  or  of  being  reported  to  the  satis¬ 
faction  of  others,  might  nevertheless  awaken  a  most 
honest  and  homefelt  and  withal  sound  conviction 
in  the  hearts  of  those  who  were  the  witnesses  of 
such  a  present  and  personal  manifestation,  and 
who  themselves  saw  with  their  eyes  and  heard  with 
tlieir  ears,  what  they  could  not  make  other  under¬ 
standings  than  their  own  to  conceive. 

12.  Now  the  question  is,  whether  those  charac¬ 
ters  of  truth  and  of  power,  which  we  now  imagine  to 
have  been  in  the  oral  testimony,  might  not  have  been 
transplanted  into  the  written  testimony — or  whether 
that  palpable  evidence  embodied  in  the  personal 
history,  and  in  the  words  of  our  Saviour  as  He 
spake  them  upon  earth,  and  of  which  the  hearers 
took  immediate  cognizance,  might  not  be  fixed  and 
substantiated  in  the  Bible  that  He  left  behind  him, 
and  be  there  taken  immediate  cognizance  of  by  the 
readers  of  the  bible.  Certain  it  is,  that  the  priinci 
facie  evidence,  the  first  aspect  of  that  verisimilitude 
which  lies  in  the  obvious  sacredness  and  honesty 
of  Scripture,  is  greatly  brightened  and  enhanced 
by  our  intent  and  our  prolonged  regards  to  it. 
The  man  who  devotes  himself  in  the  spirit  of  a 
thorough  moral  earnestness  to  the  perusal  of 
Scripture,  feels  a  growing  homage  in  his  heart  to 
the  sanctity  and  the  majesty  and  the  authority 
which  beam  upon  him  from  its  pages — and  in  more 
conspicuous  light,  and  with  more  commanding 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


71 


effect,  the  longer  that  this  holy  exercise  is  perse¬ 
vered  in.  And  the  question  recurs — might  not 
this  growing  probability  grow  into  a  complete  and 
irresistible  certainty  at  the  last  ?  Might  not  the 
verisimilitude  ripen  and  be  confirmed  into  the  full 
assurance  of  a  verity  ?  If  in  the  course  of  actual 
experience  it  be  found,  that  we  do  meet  with  daily 
accessions  to  this  evidence — how  are  we  to  know 
that  there  is  not  as  much  of  the  evidence  in  reserve, 
as  shall  at  length  overpower  the  mind  into  a  settled 
yet  sound  conviction,  that  verily  God  is  in  the 
Bible  of  a  truth  ?  It  is  no  condemnation  of  this 
evidence,  that,  only  seen  by  those  who  have  thus 
reached  their  way  to  it,  it  has  not  yet  come  within 
the  observation  of  others  who  are  behind  them, 
who  have  not  given  the  same  serious  and  sustained 
attention  to  the  Bible,  or  not  so  much  made  it  the 
book  of  their  anxious  and  repeated  perusals — nor 
their  right  understanding  of  the  book,  the  subject 
of  their  devoutest  prayers.  It  is  true,  the  resulting 
evidence  is  of  that  personal  and  peculiar  quality, 
which  cannot  be  translated  in  all  its  proper  force 
and  clearness  into  the  mind  of  another — yet  may  it 
be  a  good  and  a  solid  evidence  notwithstanding — 
as  much  so  as  the  ocular  evidence  for  the  reality 
of  some  isolated  spot  which  I  alone  have  been 
admitted  to  see,  and  which  no  human  eyes  but  my 
own  have  ever  once  beheld.  The  evidence  is  not 
at  all  weakened  by  this  monopoly.  To  myself  it 
is  every  way  as  satisfying  and  strong  as  if  thousands 
shared  in  it.  At  least,  irrespective  of  them,  the  con¬ 
viction  on  my  own  separate  and  independent  view  of 
the  object  of  the  question,  may  have  been  so  perfect. 


72  ON  I  Ill*  MORAL  EVIDENCE  fOE  THE 

as  to  require  no  additions.  Yet,  if  not  an  addition, 
there  is  at  least  a  pleasing  harmony  in  the  expe¬ 
rience  of  men,  who  have  been  admitted  to  the 
view  along  with  me.  We  might  be  strengthened 
and  confirmed  by  our  mutual  assurance  of  a  reality 
in  things  unknown  to  all  but  ourselves,  and  which 
to  the  generality  of  the  world  abide  in  deepest 
secrecy.  And  such  too  the  sympathy,  such  the 
confirmation  felt  by  “the  peculiar  people,”  in 
their  converse  with  each  other.  They  are  a 
chosen  generation,  and  have  been  translated  out 
of  darkness  into  the  marvellous  light  of  the  Gospel 
* — each  having  the  witness  within  himself,  yet  all 
prizing  the  discovery,  when,  on  talking  one  with 
another,  they  find  the  consistency  and  the  oneness 
of  a  common  manifestation. 

13.  No  explanation  of  this  evidence  will  convince 
the  uninitiated.  But  it  may  assist  them  to  conceive 
of  it — nay  to  acquiesce  iaits  possibility,  perhaps 
even  in  its  probability,  or  still  farther  in  its  truth 
— though  a  truth  which  they  individually  have  not 
been  permitted  to  behold.  Yet  we  see  not  how 
they  can  approximate  to  the  true  understanding  of 
it,  unless  they  are  told  of  the  revelation  made  to 
the  mind  of  man  by  the  Spirit  of  God — although 
it  be  a  revelation  to  which  they  are  yet  strangers. 
Yet  they  cannot  fail  to  have  read  the  intimations 
of  such  a  process  in  the  Bible — of  “  men  trans¬ 
lated  out  of  darkness  into  marvellous  light” _ of 

“  things  hidden  from  the  wise  and  the  prudent  yet 
revealed  unto  babes” — of  the  “  day  dawning,  and 
the  day-star  arising  in  the  hearts  of  those  who 
were  making  diligent  search  after  the  doctrine  of 


TRUTH  OF  THE  MEW  TESTAMENT.  73 

their  salvation” — of  “  eyes  being  opened  to  behold 
the  marvellous  light  contained  in  God’s  law” — and 
finally,  of  “  God  who  commanded  the  light  to 
shine  out  of  darkness,  shining  in  the  hearts  of  men 
and  giving  them  the  light  of  His  own  glory  in  the 
face  of  Jesus  Christ.”  There  may  be  to  them  a 
felt  mysticismin  these  various  passages — yet  they  are 
the  passages  of  a  book,  the  argumentative  evidence 
of  which  many  of  them  have  studied  and  been  satis¬ 
fied  therewith.  This  higher,  this  transcendental 
evidence,  they  may  not  have  shared  in.  Yet 
perhaps  some  general  notion  could  be  given  of  it 
— and  even  they  might  be  taught  in  part  to 
apprehend  what  they  have  not  yet  appropriated. 

14.  It  is  of  capital  importance  for  those  who 
are  strangers  to  this  evidence,  and  perhaps  are 
suspicious  of  its  fanaticism  and  folly — it  is  of 
capital  importance  for  them  to  be  told,  that  the 
Spirit,  in  revealing  truth  to  the  mind,  reveals  only 
the  things  which  are  contained  in  scripture.  He 
tells  us,  not  of  the  things  which  are  out  of  the 
Bible  ;  but  he  tells  us  of  the  things  that  are  in  the 
Bible.  He  sheds  a  light  on  the  pages  of  the 
Word.  He  opens  the  understandings  of  men;  but 
it  is  to  understand  the  Scriptures.  He  opens 
their  eyes ;  but  it  is  to  behold  the  things  contained 
in  this  book.  The  design  of  His  internal  revelation, 
is  to  make  the  things  of  the  external  revelation 
visible.  They  are  the  previous  objective  realities 
of  scripture  in  which  he  deals ;  and,  though  His 
be  in  one  respect  a  new  revelation,  yet  the  great 
purpose  of  it  is  to  cast  a  light  over  the  stable  and 
independent  truths  of  the  old  revelation.  When 

VOL.  IV. 


D 


74  ON  THE  MO  UAL  EVIDENCE  FOU  THE 

He  takes  of  the  things  of  Christ  and  shows  them 
unto  us,  He  but  shows  us  the  things  of  Scripture, 
or  the  things  which  the  Scripture  tells  of  Christ. 
Each  man  on  whom  He  operates  is  made  the 
subject  of  a  distinct  manifestation;  yet  He  does 
not  tell  a  different  Christianity  to  each,  but  the 
same  Christianity  to  all — for  the  Christianity  which 
He  has  graven  on  the  hearts  of  those  to  whom  He 
has  imparted  the  gift  of  spiritual  discernment,  is  a 
precise  transcript  of  the  Christianity  previously 
graven  on  the  pages  of  the  New  Testament.  At 
this  rate  there  might  be  no  fancy,  no  fluctuation, 
in  the  Christianity  of  these  men — for  they  are  all 
made  to  behold  the  same  things ;  and  both  the 
doctrine  which  they  believe,  and  the  morality  which 
they  are  taught  to  practise,  may  be  tried  by  a 
reference  to  the  same  standard — even  the  standard 
of  the  law  and  of  the  testimony.  ,And  scripture 
is  still  the  abiding  test-book  of  their  Christianity 

_ for,  whatever  the  pretensions  of  these  men,  if 

they  speak  not  according  to  the  things  that  are 
written  in  this  hook,  there  is  no  truth  in  them. 
And  as  there  is  nothing  precarious  in  their  doc¬ 
trine,  neither  is  there  aught  precarious  in  the 
evidence  upon  which  they  have  received  it.  One 
can  imagine  a  hundred-fold  strength  given  to  the 
faculty  of  distant  vision — on  which  the  features  of 
a  remote  landscape,  now  beyond  the  perception  of 
the  natural  eye,  might  start  into  sure  and  satisfying 
revelation ;  and  what  we  should  thus  behold  would 
not  be  an  illusion,  but  a  solid  reality,  and  on  the 
best  of  all  evidence,  even  that  of  ocular  demonstra¬ 
tion.  And  one  can  also  imagine  a  hundred-fold 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  75 

strength  given  to  the  faculty  of  minute  or  micro¬ 
scopic  vision — on  which,  the  arcana  of  a  hidden 
region,  now  beneath  the  perception  of  the  natural 
eye  would  come  into  view,  and  still  on  the  same 
evidence  of  ocular  demonstration.  And  thus  too 
we  might  imagine  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  whom  it  is 
not  for  us  to  limit  as  if  we  indeed  comprehended 
the  whole  of  His  way—that  He  gives  to  the  mind 
of  the  inquirer,  to  the  eye  of  his  intellect,  a 
powerful  and  penetrating  discernment  into  the 
matters  of  Scripture;  and  that  he  is  made  in 
consequence  to  behold  a  character  of  majesty  and 
sacredness,  and  to  hear  a  voice  of  authority  which 
tells  him  irresistibly  of  God.  Whether  such 
signatures  of  the  Godhead  as  these  be  actually  in 
Scripture,  or  what  the  things  to  be  discerned  are 
which  lie  in  reserve  for  our  discernment  there,  can 
only  be  told  by  him  who  has  the  faculty  of  discern¬ 
ment,  not  by  him  who  wants  it — in  like  manner  as 
the  objects  of  a  telescopic  region  can  only  be  told 
by  him  who  has  the  enlarged  vision  of  the  telescope, 
not  by  him  who  possesses  but  the  limited  vision  of 
the  natural  eye.  Certain  it  is,  that  if  such  tokens 
of  the  divinity  exist  in  the  Bible,  and  it  is  by  an 
augmentation  in  the  visual  faculties  of  the  mind 
that  we  are  enabled  to  behold  them — there  might 
be  as  much  reason  and  philosophy  in  the  convictions 
of  those  by  whom  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  is 
spiritually  discerned,  as  there  is  in  the  confidence 
of  the  astronomer,  when  he  tells  of  the  satellites  of 
Jupiter;  or  of  the  naturalist,  when  he  tells  of  the 
atoms  and  animalcules  that  are  beneath  the  ken 
of  our  unaided  eyesight.  The  reader  of  the 


76  ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 

Bible,  when  thus  gifted,  might  have  as  legitimate 
an  assurance  of  the  new  meaning  he  is  no^  made 
to  behold— as,  with  only  his  old  faculties,  he  had 
of  the  mind  or  meaning  of  any  ordinary  author.* 
The  very  process  whereof  he  is  conscious  in  his 
own  mind,  and  by  which  he  has  been  usheied  into 
this  new  and  impressive  manifestation  of  the  Deity, 
adds  a  peculiar  evidence  of  its  own  to  that  of  the 
outward  manifestation  itself;  and  rivets  still  more 
the  conviction,  that  the  same  God,  who  thus 
supernaturally  teaches  him  to  understand  this 
Bible,  is  verily  in  the  Bible  of  a  truth. 

15.  It  is  thus  that  the  veriest  babe  in  natural 
knowledge  might  be  made  to  perceive  God  in  the 
scriptures,  and  there  be  revealed  to  him  things 
hidden  from  the  wise  and  the  prudent-t  When,  in 
virtue  of  this  spiritual  revelation,  the  scales  are 
made  to  fall  from  his  eyes— he  might  recognize,  in 
the  sentences  wfhich  the  Bible  gives  forth,  the 
divinity  of  Him  who  utters  them,  directly  announc¬ 
ing  itself  to  be  the  voice  of  God  clothed  in  majesty. 
Yet  he  is  informed  of  nothing  but  what  the  word 
tells  him;  but  to  his  mind,  now  opened  and  clarified, 
it  tells  what  it  never  told  before ;  and  he  can  now 
say  with  him  in  the  Gospel  whom  a  miracle  had 
cured,  “  I  was  once  blind  but  now  I  see.”  In  the 
whole  of  this  wondrous  record,  from  first  to  last, 
from  the  Patriarchs  and  Prophets  of  the  Old  to  the 

*  “  We  cannot  conceive  how  reason  should  be  prejudiced  by 
the  advancement  of  the  rational  faculties  of  our  souls  with  respect 
unto  their  exercise  toward  their  proper  objects  ;  which  is^  all  we 
assign  unto  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  this  matter.  ’ — Dr, 
Owen  on  the  Spirit. 

f  Matt,  xi  25. 


TRUTH  OF  TIIE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  77 

• 

Apostles  of  the  New  Testament;  he  descries  through¬ 
out,  the  purity  and  the  wisdom  and  the  sustained 
loftiness  of  the  Godhead.  As  in  personal  converse 
we  might  recognize  at  once  both  the  dignity  and 
wisdom  of  him  to  whose  spoken  language  we  are 
at  the  time  giving  ear — so,  in  the  perusal  of 
written  language,  the  same  attributes  might  be 
discernible ;  and  be  so  enhanced  as  to  impress  on 
the  awakened  reader,  the  sense  and  the  rightful 
conviction  that  God  Himself  had  broken  silence. 
He  feels  it  to  be  the  language  not  of  earth,  but  of 
Heaven’s  august  sanctuary.  The  evidence  of  this 
in  the  Bible  beams  direct  upon  him  from  its  own 
pages ;  and,  however  difficult  or  perhaps  incapable 
of  analysis  it  may  be,  this  hinders  not  its  being  his 
rational  and  well-grounded  faith — when  to  him  the 
reading  of  Scripture  is  an  act  of  felt  and  immediate 
fellowship  with  God. 

16.  This  evidence,  however  distinctly  felt  by 
him  who  is  the  subject  of  it  or  who  has  had  the 
experience  of  its  manifestation,  it  is  extremely 
difficult  to  speak  of  discursively  or  to  the  satisfac¬ 
tion  of  others.  Dr.  Owen,  in  hiS  treatise .  on 
<c  the  divine  original  authority  self-evidencing  light 
and  power  of  the  scriptures,  with  an  answer  to 
that  inquiry  how  we  know  the  scriptures  to  be 
the  word  of  God,”  has  with  all  his  efforts  failed,  we 
think,  in  describing  to  others,  what  we  have  no  doubt 
he  genuinely  experienced  himself— and  so  leaves 
the  subject  in  great  obscurity.  Our  own  Halyburton, 
whose  book  on  Deism  in  reply  to’ Lord  Herbert,* 

*  Natural  Religion  insufficient,  and  Revealed  necessary  to 
Man’s  happiness  in  liis  present  state ;  or  a  rational  inquiry  into 


78  ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 

and  whose  little  tract,  or Essay  concerning  the 
Nature  of  Faith,  or  the  grounds  upon  which  it 
assents  to  the  Scriptures,”  place  him  in  a  high' 
rank  among  our  philosophical  theologians — is  the 
most  successful  expounder  of  it  whom  we  have  yet 
met  with.  In  this  latter  performance,  the  running 
title  of  which  is  an  u  Essay  concerning  the  Reason 
of  Faith,”  he  controverts  the  opinion  of  the  ration¬ 
alists  on  this  subject,  and  especially  of  Mr.  Locke 
in  his  book  on  the  Human  Understanding.  The 
following  are  a  few  extracts : — u  This  impress, 
those  characters,  prints  and  vestiges  of  the  infinite 
perfections  of  the  Deity,  that  unavoidably  must  be 
allowed  to  be  stamp’d  on,  and  shine,  not  merely 
or  only  or  principally  in  the  matter,  but  in  that  as 
spoken  or  written,  and  in  the  writings  or  words,  in 
their  style,  the  spirit  running  through  them,  the 
scope,  tendency,  &c.  This  ®eoirgeT&a  or  God¬ 
becoming  impress  of  majesty,  sovereignty,  omni¬ 
science,  independence,  holiness,  justice,  goodness, 
wisdom,  and  pofrer,  is  not  only  a  sufficient  and  real, 
but  in  very  deed,  the  greatest  objective  light  and 
evidence  imaginable.  And  where  one  has  an 
understanding  given  to  know  him  that  is  true,  and 
is  made  thereby  to  entertain  any  suitable  notion  of 
the  Deity,  upon  intuition  of  this  objective  evidence, 
without  waiting  to  reason  on  the  matter,  his  assent 
will  be  carried,  and  unavoidably  determined  to 
rest  on  it  as  the  highest  ground  of  assurance. 

the  principles  of  the  Modem  Deists,  &c. by  the  Rev.  Thcvnas 
Halyburton,  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  University  of  St. 
Andrew’s.  He  flourished  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  ; 
and  is  author  of  a  most  valuable  practical  work — “  The  Great 
Concern.’*  *, 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


79 


And  this  assent  founded  on  this  impress  of  Jhe 
Deity  in  his  own  word,  is  indeed  an  assent  of  the 
highest  degree.  And  thus  far  faith  resembles  our 
intuitive  knowledge,  with  this  difference,  not  as  to 
the  manner  of  the  mind’s  acting,  but  as  to  the 
ability  .whence  it  acts  ;  that  in  our  intuitive  know¬ 
ledge,  as  Mr.  Locke,  and  those  of  his  opinion, 
restricts  it,  the  evidence  or  objective  light  is  such 
as  not  only  is  immediately  without  reasoning 
discern’d,  but  such  as  lies  open  to,  and  is  discern¬ 
ible  by  our  understandings,  without  any  subjective 
light,  any  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God  either  repairing 
disabled  faculties,  or  elevating  and  guiding  them  to 
the  due  observation,  or  fixing  their  attention,  or 
freeing  their  minds  of  the  pow'er  and  present 
influence  of  aversion  of  will,  disorder  of  affections 
and  prejudices  that  obstruct  the  discerning  power. 
Whereas  this  is  really  necessary  in  this  case,  and 
though  the  objective  evidence  is  great,  and  still  the 
same ;  yet  according  to  the  greater  or  lesser  degree 
of  this  assistance,  our  assent  must  be  stronger  or 
weaker,  more  fixed  or  wavering. 

“  When  this  objective  evidence  is  actually 
observant  to,  and  under  the  view  of  the  mind  thus 
enabled,  disposed,  and  assisted,  there  doth  arise 
from  it,  and  there  is  made  by  it,  an  Impression  on 
the  whole  soul  corresponding  thereto.  The  beam¬ 
ing  of  God’s  sovereign  authority  aw's  conscience. 
The  piercing  evidence  of  his  omniscience  increases 
that  regard,  the  view  of  goodness,  mercy,  love,  and 
grace  operates  on  the  will,  and  leaves  a  relish  on 
the  affections,  and  this  truly  resembles  sensible 
evidence,  tho*  it  is  of  spiritual  things,  and  of  a 


80  ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 

spiritual  nature;  nor  is  it,  as  it  is  evidence,  inferiour 
to,  4)ut  upon  many  accounts  preferable  to  that 
which  results  from  the  impression  made  by  sensible 
objects.  And  this,  as  was  observ’d  of  the  former, 
is  also  greater  or  less,  according  and  in  proportion 
unto  the  view  we  have  of  that  objective  light 
above-mentioned.  This  self-evidencing  power  is  a 
resultancy  from,  and  in  degree  keeps  pace  with 
that  self-evidencing  light.” 

“  This  light  whereby  the  written  Word  evidences 
itself  unto  the  minds  of  those  who  have  spiritual 
ears  to  hear  and  apply  them,  is  nothing  else,  save 
the  impress  of  the  majesty,  truth,  omniscience, 
wisdom,  holiness,  justice,  grace,  mercy,  and  autho¬ 
rity  of  God,  stamped  upon  the  scriptures  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  beaming  or  shining  into  the 
minds,  of  such  persons  upon  their  hearing  or 
perusal,  and  affecting  them  with  a  sense  of  these 
perfections,  both  in  what  is  spoken,  and  in  the 
majestick  and  God-becoming  way  of  speaking  :  they 
speak  as  never  man  spake ;  the  matter  spoken,  and 
the  manner  of  speaking,  has  a  greatness  discernible 
by  a  spiritual  understanding,  that  satisfies  it  fully, 
that  God  is  the  speaker.  And  all  the  impressions 
of  God’s  wisdom,  faithfulness,  omniscience,  and 
majesty  that  are  stamped  upon  the  matter  contain’d 
in  the  scriptures  being  convey’d  only  by  the  Word, 
do  join  the  impressions  that  are  upon  the  Word, 
and  strengthen  the  evidence  they  give  of  their 
divine  original,  since  these  impressions  do  not 
otherwise  appear  to  our  minds,  or  affect  them,  than 
by  the  Word.  The  Word  by  a  God-becoming 
manifestation  of  the  truth,  that  scorns  all  these 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


81 


little  and  mean  arts  of  insinuation,  by  fair  and 
enticing  words ;  and  artificially  dress’d-up  argu¬ 
mentations,  with  other  the  like  confessions  of 
numan  weakness,  that  are  in  all  humane  writings, 
commends  itself  to  the  conscience,  dives  into  the 
souls  of  men,  into  all  the  secret  recesses  of  their 
hearts,  guides,  teaches,  directs,  determines,  and 
judges  in  them,  and  upon  them,  in  the  name, 
majestjr  and  authority  of  God.  And  when  it  enters 
thus  into  the  soul,  it  fills  it  with  the  light  of  the 
glory  of  the  beamings  of  those  perfections  upon  it ; 
whereby  it  is  made  to  cry  out,  ‘  The  voice  of  God, 
and  not  of  man.’  ” 

17.  But  wre  can  imagine  certain  minds  to  be 
unsettled,  if  not  repelled,  by  the  whole  of  this 
contemplation.  Many  may  feel  that,  instead  of 
bringing  the  subject  nearer,  it  has  in  truth  distanced 
them  from  Christianity.  They  could  apprehend 
the  rational  evidence  for  the  truth  of  the  gospel ; 
and  perhaps  rejoiced  as  they  were  trying  the 
strength  of  it,  in  the  solidity  of  that  ground  upon 
which  they  were  standing.  But  they  have  no  taste 

and  no  understanding  for  this  spiritual  evidence _ 

nor  can  they  at  all  sympathize  with  those  men  of 
another  conformation  who  seem  regaled,  in  the 
study  of  it,  as  if  by  a  splendour  and  a  richness  to 
them  incomprehensible.  To  them  it  appears  like 

the  substitution  of  an  imaginary  for  a  real  basis _ 

the  quitting  of  a  firm  vantage-ground,  with  no 
other  compensation  for  the  loss  of  it,  than  a  certain 
visionary  and  viewless  mysticism  in  its  place. 
They  refuse,  therefore,  to  enter  on  this  impracti¬ 
cable  region ;  or  to  entertain  at  all  that  shadowy 

d  2 


82 


ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 


argument  which,  to  the  eye  of  their  intellect,  has 
exceedingly  bedimmed  the  question,  and  put  it  on 
an  elevation,  which,  be  it  sound  or  be  it  fanciful, 
they  regard  as  being  hopelessly  and  inaccessibly 
above  them.  And  so  they  incline  to  keep  by  the 
position  which  they  at  present  occupy,  and  to 
attempt  nothing  higher — leaving  this  adventurous 
flight  to  others,  but  satisfied  themselves  with  the 
more  palpable  reasonings  of  Leslie  and  Littleton 
and  Butler  and  Lardner  and  Paley. 

18.  Our  first  reply  to  this  is,  that  they  do  not 
set  aside  the  rational,  when  they  enter  on  the 
consideration  of  the  spiritual  evidence,  or  when 
they  attempt  in  their  own  persons  to  realise  it. 
They  need  not  forego  a  single  advantage  which  they 
have  gained.  The  spiritual  evidence  does  not 
darken  or  cast  an  uncertainty  over  the  rational 
evidence — no  more  unsettles,  for  example,  the 
historical  argument  for  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion,  than  it  unsettles  any  of  the  demonstrations 
of  geometry.  If  by  this  new  opening  they  do  not  feel 
themselves  led  forward,  and  so  as  to  make  a  nearer 
approximation  to  the  truth  than  before — they  most 
assuredly  are  net  thrown  back  by  it.  The  argument 
from  prephecy  does  not  obscure  the  argument  from 
miracles ;  and  as  little  does  the  moral  or  spiritual 
evidence  which  we  are  now  attempting  to  unfold, 
obscure  either  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  argu¬ 
ments.  The  validity  of  one  species  of  reasoning 
does  not  depend  on  the  validity  of  another  species 
which  is  altogether  distinct  from  it.  The  more 
transcendental  light  of  which  we  have  just  spoken, 
weaves  all  the  other  and  lesser  lights  precisely 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


83 


where  it  found  them.  They  discharge  the  same 
function  as  heretofore.  The  pleadings  of  the  very 
authors  on  the  deistical  controversy,  whom  we  have 
quoted  remain  as  good  as  ever ;  and,  if  we  are  not 
admitted  by  them  into  the  glories  of  the  inner 
temple,  they  one  and  all  of  them  have  at  least 
strengthened  the  bulwarks  of  the  faith. 

19.  But  moreover.  What  ought  to  abate  the 
formidableness  of  this  evidence  (regarded  by  them 
as  if  it  were  a  secret  of  free-masonry  and  only  for 
the  initiated)  and  make  it  less  repulsive  in  their 
eyes,  is,  that,  however  lofty  and  remote  from  every 
present  view  and  vision  of  theirs,  there  is  a  series 
of  patent  and  practicable  steps  by  which  they  and 
all  others  might  be  led  to  the  perception  of  it. 
There  is  one  most  obvious  principle,  clear  of  all 
mysticism,  and  which  they  will  not  refuse — that  if 
once  convinced  on  rational,  or  on  any  evidence,  of 
the  Bible  being  indeed  a  message  from  the  God  of 
heaven,  it  is  their  urgent,  their  imperative  duty  to 
read  that  Bible  ;  or,  after  having  studied  and  been 
satisfied  with  the  credentials  of  the  book,  now  to 
explore  with  all  docility  and  labour  the  contents  of 
the  book.  There  is  another  principle  of  an  equally 
elementary  character  which  they  cannot  refuse  to 
admit,  and  should  not  refuse  to  act  upon — that, 
however  strange  and  transcendental  the  light  of 
spiritual  Christianity  may  appear  in  their  eyes, 
they  have  at  least  a  light  of  conscience  within  them 
which  they  are  bound  to  follow,  so  as  to  accompany 
their  devout  and  diligent  reading  of  the  Scriptures 
with  the  most  faithful  observation  of  all  which  this 
inward  monitor  tells  them  to  be  right,  and  as 


84 


ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 


scrupulous  an  avoidance  of  all  which  it  tells  them  to 
be  wrong.  Thus  far  they  walk  on  a  plain  path ; 
and  there  is  but  one  suggestion  more,  which,  if 
theirs  be  indeed  an  honest  respect  for  the  authority  of 
scripture  (as  sufficiently  vindicated  to  their  appre¬ 
hension  on  the  ground  of  its  argumentative  and 
literary  evidence  alone)  they  will  not  shrink  from — 
and  that  is,  the  obligation  as  well  as  the  efficacy  of 
prayer,  and  of  prayer  for  other  and  higher* mani¬ 
festations  of  the  truth  than  they  have  yet  been 
permitted  to  enjoy.  They  surely  do  not  imagine 
such  to  he  the  fulness  and  perfection  of  their 
knowledge,  that  there  is  no  room  in  their  minds 
for  any  further  enlargement  or  further  illumination. 
Let  us  then  suppose  them  to  have  actually  entered 
on  this  process — a  most  careful  perusal  of  His 
word — a  most  careful  and  conscientious  doing  of 
His  will  as  far  as  is  known  to  them — and  withal, 
most  earnest  prayer  for  the  visitation  of  that  light 
which  they  have  not  yet  reached,  but  now  most 
honestly  aspire  after.  We  think  that  the  truth  of 
scripture  may  be  perilled  on  the  result  of  such  an 
enterprise  ;  and  that,  because  its  own  declarations 
will  either  be  verified  or  disproved  by  it.  For  here 
are  men  willing  to  do  the  will  of  God ;  let  us  see 
whether  they  will  not  be  made  to  know  of  Christ’s 
doctrine  that  it  is  of  God.*  Here  are  men  keeping 
the  sayings  of  the  Saviour ;  let  us  see  whether  He 
will  not  manifest  himself  to  them  in  such  a  way  as 
He  doeth  not  unto  the  world.f  Here  are  men 
making  a  conscientious  use  of  the  light  they  have ; 


*  John  vii.  17. 


f  John  xiv.  21. 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  8d 

and  let  us  see  whether  in  their  history  there  will 

* 

not  be  the  fulfilment  of  the  saying,  that  to  him 
who  hath  more  shall  be  given.*  Here  are  men 
giving  earnest  heed  to  the  word ;  let  us  see  whether 
the  promise  will  not  be  accomplished,  that  the  day 
shall  dawn  and  the  day-star  arise  in  their  hearts.! 
Here  are  men  seeking  intently,  and  with  all  earnest¬ 
ness  seeking ;  let  us  see  whether  or  not  the 
declaration  of  the  Saviour  will  come  to  pass,  he 
that  seeketh  findeth.t  Here  are  men,  while  in 
the  busy  and  anxious  pursuit  of  that  truth  which 
is  unto  salvation,  conforming  their  walk  as  far  as  in 
them  lies  to  all  the  lessons  of  piety  and  righteousness; 
let  us  see  whether  the  glorious  assurance  will  not 
be  realized,  that  to  him  who  ordereth  his  conversa¬ 
tion  aright  I  will  show  my  salvation. §  Such  seems 
then  to  he  the  economy  of  the  Gospel.  It  has  an 
incipient  day  of  small  things,  ||  which,  if  not  despised 
but  prosecuted  aright,  will  terminate  in  a  day  of 
large  and  lofty  manifestations.  It  takes  its  outset 
from  the  plainest  biddings  of  conscience.  It  has 
its  consummation  in  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
which  the  natural  man  cannot  receive,  neither  can 
he  know  them  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned. 
It  begins  with  that  wrhich  all  may  apprehend,  and 
all  may  act  upon.  It  ends  with  that  which  eye 
hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  hath  it  entered 
into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive  ;  but  wrhich  God 
reveals  by  His  Spirit  even  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
given  to  those  who  obey  him.^jf  He  is  quenched. 
He  is  grieved,  He  is  resisted  by  our  despite  of 

*  Matt.  xxv.  29.  f  2  Pet.  i.  19.  f  Matt,  vii.*  8.  §  Psalm  1.  23. 

U  Zechariah  iv.  10.  ^1  Cor.  ii.  9,  10. 


80 


ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOIL  THE 


Him  and  of  His  suggestions — or,  which  is  every¬ 
way  tantamount  to  this,  the  despite  and  disobe¬ 
dience  done  by  us  to  the  suggestions  of  our  own 
conscience.  Were  we  faithful  to  the  lesser  light, 
the  larger  would  at  length  shine  upon  us.  Did  we 
hunger  and  thirst  after  these  higher  revelations  of 
the  Gospel,  then  their  glory  and  their  fulness  would 
at  length  be  ours..  This  is  the  constitution  of  things. 
1  here  is  a  connexion  established  between  disobe¬ 
dience  and  spiritual  desertion — “  he  who  hateth  his 
brother  is  in  darkness.”*  And  there  is  a  connexion 

between  obedience  and  spiritual  discernment _ 

“the  path  of  the  upright  is  like  the  shining  ligh4- 
which  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day/  f 
The  every-day  virtues  of  the  Gospel  form  the  steps 
of  that  ladder,  by  which  we  ascend  to  the  mystic 
glory  of  its  full  and  finished  revelations.  The 
moral  is  the  conductor  to  the  spiritual.  Conscienti¬ 
ousness  in  practice  leads  to  clearness  in  theology. 
“  The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him.”t 
“  Hemeeteth  him  thatworkethrighteousness.”§  “  I3 
not  this  the  fast  that  I  have  chosen  ?  to  loose  the 
bands  of  wickedness,  to  undo  the  heavy  burdens, 
and  to  let  the  oppressed  go  free,  and  that  ye  break 
every  yoke  ?  Is  it  not  to  deal  thy  bread  to  the 
hungry,  and  that  thou  bring  the  poor  that  are 
cast  out  to  thy  house  ?  when  thou  seest  the  naked, 
that  thou  cover  him;  and  that  thou  hide  not 
thyself  from  thine  own  flesh  ?  Then  shall  thy  light 
break  forth  as  the  morning,  and  thine  health  shall 
spring  forth  speedily ;  and  thy  righteousness  shall 

*lJohnii  11*  fProv.  iv.  is.  |  Psalm  xxv.  14.  §  Isaiah  lxiv.  5 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  &7 

go  before  thee  :  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
thy  rere-ward.”*  “  If  thou  draw  out  thy  soul  to  the 
hungry,  and  satisfy  the  afflicted  soul ;  then  shall  thy 
light  rise  in  obscurity,  and  thy  darkness  be  as  the 
noon-day.”t 

20.  Now  this  should  reconcile  men  to  the 
alleged  mystery  of  these  higher  communications, 
should  soften  or  rather  do  away  their  offence  and 
prejudice  against  it — when  Christianity  thus  con- 
m  sents  to  be  put  upon  its  trial.  However  inconceivable 
or  inaccessible  the  glories  of  its  inner  temple  might 
be  deemed,  it  is  truly  a  plain  and  practicable  avenue 
which  leads  to  them.  That  is  no  uncertain  sound 
which  the  trumpet  giveth  forth,  when  the  Gospel 
makes  its  first  intimations,  and  sets  those  who  are 
obedient  to  its  call  on  that  progressive  way,  which 
leads  to  the  discovery  of  things  beyond  the  ken  of 
nature,  and  which  only  a  light  from  the  upper 
sanctuary  can  make  manifest  to  the  soul.  It  is 
true  that  there  are  things  revealed  unto  babes  and 
hidden  from  the  wise  and  the  prudent ;  but  this  is 
because  they  want  the  docility  of  babes.  They 
have  not  been  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  because  they  have  not  been 
converted  and  become  as  little  children  4  They 
do  not  sit  to  the  book  of  revelation,  as  Newton  did 
to  the  book  of  nature,  with  the  modesty  and 
teachableness  of  him  who  felt  that  he  had  all  to 
learn.  They  have  been  alike  unobservant  of  the 
wisdom  of  true  philosophy,  and  the  piety  of  true 
Christians ;  and  so  have  renounced  not  their  lofty 


*  Isaiah  Iviii.  C — 8.  f  Isaiah  lviii.  10.  %  Matt,  xviii.  S. 


88 


ON  THE  MORAL  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE 


imaginations,  nor  brought  every  thought  of  their 
hearts  in  captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Scripture.* 
It  is  thus  that  their  contempt  for  the  higher 
mysteries  of  the  Gospel,  will  be  found  to  resolve 
itself  into  contempt  for  the  plainest  of  its  lessons. 

It  tells  them  how  to  wait  and  work  for  spiritual  illu¬ 
mination,  yet  they  did  not  act— it  tells  them  how  to 
seek  for  it,  yet  they  did  not  pray.  They  admit  the 
authority  of  the  book;  but  they  refuse  its  sayings, 
t  is  because  of  its  rational  evidence,  that  they 
admit  the  authority ;  and  it  is  because  they  refuse  * 
the  sayings,  that  they  remain  contemptuous  .and 
ignorant  of  its  spiritual  evidence.  They  are 
strangers  to  that  which  is  recondite,  because, 
traversing  even  their  own  principles,  they  have  not 
made  a  faithful  use  of  that  which  is  obvious. 

heirs  will  be  a  palpable  condemnation — that  the 
clearest  dictates  of  their  own  conscience,  the 
clearest  intimations  of  the  word  acknowledged  by 

themselves  to  be  divine,  have  been  alike  disregarded 
by  them. 

.  21.  That  evidence  for  Christianity  which  is  seen 
m  the  light  of  the  spirit,  though  called  a  mystical, 
is  in  truth  a  moral  evidence.  By  all  the  Scripture 
testimonies  which  we  have  quoted,  it  is  an  illumi¬ 
nation  which  begins  and  brightens  onwards  alono- 
the  pathway  of  a  moral  obedience— advancing  step 
y  step  from  the  lesser  to  the  greater  light,  but 
through  the  conscientious  use  of  the  smaller  hein* 
ollowed  up,  under  the  virtuous  administration  o!  ' 
the  Gospel,  by  the  larger  manifestation.  When 


*  2  Cor.  x.  5. 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  89 

looked  to  in  connexion  with  God  who  in  every 

individual  case  originates  the  process,  it  may  be 

regarded  as  the  fruit  of  His  grace  and  sovereignty. 

When  looked  to  in  connexion  with  man  who 

* 

undergoes  the  process,  it  may  be  regarded  as  the 
fruit  of  moral  earnestness  and  prayer.  Whether 
viewed  in  the  history  or  in  the  results  of  it,  it 
gives  the  impress  of  a  thorough  moral  character  to 
the  economy  under  which  we  sit — that  the  fulfil¬ 
ment  of  duty  should  thus  lead  the  way  to  the 
fuller  comprehension  of  doctrine — or  that  by  the 
desires  and  the  labours  of  an  honest  aspiring 
conscientiousness,  that  channel  is  opened  by  which 
the  light  of  heaven  is  let  in  upon  the  soul.  The 
system  under  which  knowledge  is  thus  made  to 
arise  in  the  train  of  righteousness  bespeaks  the 
essential  righteousness  of  its  author,  and  is  so  far 
an  evidence  of  its  having  come  from  the  all-righteous 
God.  But  this  evidence,  grounded  on  the  nature 
of  the  process  which  leads  to  the  spiritual  revela¬ 
tion,  is  distinct  from  the  more  latent  evidence  that 
lies  in  the  things  which  are  revealed — in  the  linea¬ 
ments,  now  made  obvious,  of  an  authority  and  a 
sacredness  and  a  wisdom  and  a  truth  which  serve 
immediately  to  announce  the  Godhead  to  an 
awakened  and  illuminated  reader  of  the  Bible. 
And  in  the  event  itself  of  his  being  thus  awakened, 
in  the  fact  or  the  fulfilment  that  has  taken  place 
in  the  history  of  his  mind,  there  is  a  third  evidence 
• — as  distinct  from  the  two  former  as  the  miraculous 
is  from  the  moral  evidence.  The  event  viewed 
historically,  or  as  an  event,  has  in  it  indeed  some¬ 
what  of  the  character  of  a  miracle — but,  to  estimate 


90  ON  THE  M  ORAL. E  VI DENCE  FOR  THE 

full^  its  argumentative  force,  we  must  view  it  not 
merely  in  the  light  of  a  moral,  but  of  an  experi¬ 
mental  evidence  for  the  truth  of  Christianity.* 

22.  The  spiritual  evidence  of  Christianity  does 
not  supersede  the  use  or  the  importance  of  its 
rational  evidence — which  discharges  the  same 
function  in  the  revealed,  that  the  incipient  light  in 
the  minds  of  all  men  does  in  the  natural  theology. 
If  the  hist  suggestions  of  conscience  respecting  a 
God,  lay  us  under  the  obligation  of  entertaining 
the  topic  and  prolonging  our  regards  t6  it— so  the 
first  evidence  that  we  obtain  for  the  Bible,  as  a 
message  from  God,  lays  us  under  the  same  obligation 
of  pondering  its  contents,  and  of  making  honest 
and  faithful  application  of  them.  A  larger  illumi¬ 
nation  in  the  one  case  as  to  the  evidence  for 
natural  religion,  and  in  the  other  as  to  the  evidence 
for  the  religion  of  the  Gospel,  will  be  the  fruit  of 
both  these  exercises.  It  is  not  the  historical  or 
the  literary  evidence  for  the  truth  of  the  Bible 
which  christianizes  the  philosophical  inquirer. 
But  it  should  lead  him  to  read  the  Bible,  and  to 
go  in  quest  of  that  evidence  by  which  he  is  chris¬ 
tianized.  Neither  those  credentials  of  the  book 
'which  gain  the  assent  of  the  philosopher,  nor  that 
precognition  of  the  book  which  is  taken  by  the 
peasant,  are  able  of  themselves  to  work  that  faith 
which  is  unto  salvation.  They  fall  short  of 
awakening  such  a  conviction  as  this  in  the  breast  of 
either — but  they  form  like  imperative  claims  on 
the  attention  of  both.  And  it  is  in  the  train  of  this 


9  See  the  next  Chapter. 


TRUTH  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


91 


attention,  earnest  and  prayerful  and  persevering, 
that  the  effective  manifestation  comes,  by  which  the 
soul  is  turned  from  darkness  unto  light ;  and,  as 
the  fruit  of  this  earnest  heed  to  the  word  of  the 
testimony,  the  day  dawns  and  the  day-star  arises 
in  the  heart.  The  evidence  lies  in  the  word.  It 
is  the  entrance  of  the  word  which  gives  light  unto 
the  simple.  It  is  the  word  which  is  a  light  unto 
his  feet,  and  a  lamp  unto  his  paths.  Whatever 
originated  the  attention  at  the  first,  however 
diverse  the  points  from  which  the  peasant  and  the 
philosopher  have  taken  their  respective  departures 
— both  must  arrive  at  the  same  landing-place,  and 
both  must  submit  to  be  tutored  by  the  same 
evidence  at  the  last.  The  manifestation  of  the 
truth  unto  the  conscience  is  made  to  each  in  the 
same  way;  and  there  is  a  common  process  by 
which  they  arrive  at  their  common  Christianity. 


CHAPTER  III. 

On  the  Experimental  Evidence  for  the  Truth  of 

Christianity . 

1.  The  moral  may  be  distinguished  from  the 
experimental  evidence  for  the  truth  of  Christianity 
thus.  In  the  former,  we  look  altogether  to  that 
which  is  objective — for  the  evidence  is  elicited  by 
our  comparison  of  one  objective  thing  with  another. 
The  moral  system  contained  in  the  Bible  is  clearly 
an  objective  matter  of  contemplation — presented  to 


92 


ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 


the  mind  in  an  outward  volume,  and  made  present 
to  the  mind  in  the  act  of  perusing  it.  The  abstract 
system,  or  the  system  of  virtue  as  regarded  accord- 
ing  to  our  own  natural  and  anterior  notions  of  it,  may 
be  viewed  also  in  the  light  ol  that  which  is  objective 
as  separate  from  the  mind,  and  distinct  from  any 
of  those  facts  or  phenomena  of  which  the  mind  is 
the  subject.  It  is  true  that  the  system  of  virtue  in 
the  Bible  rectifies  our  own  previous  notions  of  it ; 
and,  by  its  enlightening  effect  upon  the  conscience, 
tends  to  assimilate  more  closely  the  ethical  system 
of  revelation  with  the  ethical  system  of  our  now 
better  instructed  human  nature.  At  length,  instead 
of  the  likeness,  we  come  to  feel  the  identity  between 
these  two ;  but  this,  instead  of  lessening  the  objec¬ 
tive  character  of  our  contemplation,  makes  it  more 
singly  and  strongly  objective  than  before.  When 
we  make  a  study  of  scripture,  we,  immediately  and 
without  any  feeling  of  comparison,  recognize  the 
purity  and  perfection  of  those  moral  characteristics 
which  enter  into  its  ethical  system— and  so  pro¬ 
nounce  it  worthy  of  having  proceeded  from  the 
God,  who  is  at  once  the  fountain  and  the  exemplar 
of  all  righteousness. 

2.  And  this  objective  nature  of  the  things  which 
engage  our  attention  is  fully  sustained,  when, 
instead  of  looking  to  the  virtues  of  scripture  as  the 
component  parts  of  its  ethical  system,  we  look  to 
them  as  embodied  in  the  character  of  the  Godhead. 
There  is  an  evidence  grounded  on  the  accordancy 
which  obtains  between  the  representations  in  the 
Bible  and  our  own  previous  notions  of  the  Deity— 
and  still  more,  when  these  notions  are  rectified  by 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


93 


the  Bible  itself,  to  the  appearance  of  which  book 
in  the  world,  we  indeed  owe  the  now  purer  and 
more  enlightened  theism  of  modern  Europe.  Still, 
when  comparing  God  as  set  forth  in  scripture  with 
God  as  seen  in  the  light  of  our  own  minds,  we 
compare  the  objective  with  the  objective  ;  and  this 
character  is  if  possible  enhanced,  when,  instead  of 
recognizing  the  likeness,  we  recognize  the  identity, 
and  feel  immediately  on  our  perusal  of  scripture 
that  God  Himself  is  speaking  to  us,  or  that  we  are 
engaged  in  close  and  personal  correspondence  with 
God.  It  is  when  God  thus  announces  Himself  as 
present  to  us  in  the  Bible,  in  His  own  characters  of 
holiness  and  majesty,  that  this  self- evidencing  light 
is  seen  in  its  brightest  manifestation.  A  simple 
uneducated  peasant,  when  his  eyes  are  opened  to 
behold  this,  takes  up  immediately  with  scripture  as 
a  communication  from  heaven — which  viewed  alto¬ 
gether  objectively  by  him,  and  without'  any  reflex 
view  of  what  passes  within  himself,  makes  direct 
revelation  of  its  own  divinity  to  his  soul. 

3.  But  though  in  the  study  of  the  moral  evidence, 
the  mind  is  altogether  engaged  objectively — it  is 
not  so  in  the  study  of  the  experimental  evidence. 
Of  the  two  parts  of  the  tally  which  are  here  brought 
into  comparison,  the  one  is  objective  and  the  other 
subjective.  It  is  on  the  accordancy  between  the 
sayings  of  scripture  and  the  findings  of  conscience, 
that  this  evidence  is  chiefly  founded — between  the 
statements  or  proposals  in  the  book  of  revelation 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  facts  or  phenomena  of 
our  own  felt  and  familiar  nature  upon  the  other. 
Yet  to  prepare  us  fully  for  a  judgment  on  the 


94 


ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 


experimental,  we  must  attend  to  things  connected 
with  the  moral  evidence  also.  When  the  Bible, 
for  example,  affirms  the  great  moral  depravation  of 
the  human  character— to  meet  this  by  an  indepen¬ 
dent  judgment  of  our  own,  we  must  be  able  to 
pronounce,  not  only  on  what  man  is,  but  on  what 
man  ought  to  be.  In  other  words,  there  must  be 
a  conscience  or  moral  faculty  which  takes  cogniz¬ 
ance  of  the  right  and  the  wrong,  as  well  as  a 
consciousness  or  faculty  of  internal  observation 
which  enters  into  the  penetralia  of  our  own  bosom, 
and  takes  cognizance  of  the  desires  and  the  affec¬ 
tions  and  the  purposes  that  have  their  being  and 
operation  there.* 

T  That  men  possess,  and  that  natively  and 
universally,  the  faculty  of  conscience,  or  that 
faculty  which  takes  cognizance  of  and  makes 
distinction  between  the  morally  good  and  evil,  is 
palpable  to  all  observation.  This  faculty  or  power 
is  in  fact  met  with  throughout  all  the  members  of 
the  human  family.  Under  all  the  varieties  of  light 
and  obscuration,  and  with  allowance  for  every 
modification  of  sentiment— still  there  is  a  general 
sense  of  right  and  wrong  that  is  characteristic 
of  our  species — a  feeling  of  approval  and  com¬ 
placency  associated  with  the  former — a  feeling  of 
shame  and  dissatisfaction  and  remorse  associated 


It  is  unfortunate,  that,  in  the  use  of  language,  the  terms  of 
conscience  and  consciousness  are  not  kept  as  distinct  from  each 
ot  ler,  as  are  the  mental  faculties  which  they  express,  and  the 
provinces  on  which  it  is  the  part  of  these  faculties  respectively  to 
expatiate.  Consciousness  has  been  strictly  enough  appropriated 
its  legitimate  meaning  ;  but  conscience  has  been  indiscrimin¬ 
ately  applied  both  to  questions  of  right  and  wrong,  and  to  questions 
winch  respect  the  actual  state  of  one’s  own  character. 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


95 


with  the  latter.  This  peculiarity  of  our  nature 
obtains  in  all.  countries,  and  among  all  the  conditions 
of  humanity.  Whatever  the  practice  may  be,  there 
is  a  certain  truth  of  perception  as  to  the  difference 
between  good  and  evil  everywhere.  There  is  a 
law  of  rectitude  to  which  in  every  nation,  how 
degraded  soever,  a  universal  homage  is  yielded  by 
the  sensibilities  of  the  heart — however  little  it  may 
be  yielded  to  by  the  practical  habit  of  their  lives. 
In  a  word,  there  is  a  morality  recognized  by  all 
men — imprinting  the  deepest  traces  of  itself  on  the 
vocabulary  of  every  language,  and  marking  the 
residence  of  a  conscience  in  every  bosom — inso-  * 
much  that,  go  to  any  outcast  tribe  of  wanderers — 
and,  however  sunk  in  barbarism,  if  we  tell  them  of 
right  and  wrong,  they  will  meet  the  demonstration 
with  responding  and  intelligent  sympathy.  We  do 
not  speak  to  them  in  vocables  unknown.  There 
is  a  common  feeling,  a  common  understanding, 
betwixt  us — one  ground  of  fellowship  at  least,  on 
which  the  most  enlightened  missionary  from  Europe 
might  hold  converse  with  the  rudest  savages  of  the 
desert. 

5.  But  again,  this  conscience,  this  sense  of 
morality,  does  not  exist  alone  in  the  heart.  It  is 
more  or  less  followed  up  by  a  certain  sense  or 
conception  of  some  rightful  sovereign  who  planted 
it  there.  The  feeling  of  a  judge  within  the  breast, 
is  in  no  case  altogether  apart  from  the  faith  of  a 
judge  above,  who  sits  as  overseer  upon  the  doings, 
and  as  arbiter  of  the  destinies  of  men.  The  moral 
sense  does  not  terminate  or  rest  in  the  mere  abstract 
relations  of  right  or  wrong ;  but  is  embodied  into 


96 


ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 


the  belief  of  a  substantive  being,  who  dispenses  the 
rewards  that  are  due  unto  the  one,  and.  inflicts  the 
penalties  that  are  felt  to  be  due  unto  the  other. 
It  is  this  which  gives  rise  to  the  theology  of  con¬ 
science,  more  quick  and  powerful  than  the  theology 
of  academic  demonstration— not  so  much  an  infer¬ 
ence  fiom  the  marks  of  design  and  harmony  in 
external  nature,  as  an  instant  suggestion  from  what 
is  felt  and  what  is  feared  within  the  recesses  of  our 
own  bosom— because  leading  by  one  footstep  from 
the  felt  supremacy  of  conscience  within,  to  the 
feared  supremacy  of  a  God,  the  author  of  con¬ 
science,  and  who  knoweth  all  things.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  imagine  of  this  theology,  that  it  is  not 
universal,  or  that  any  degree  whether  of  ignorance 
or  corruption  can  wholly  obliterate  it.  It  was  not 
stifled  by  the  polytheism  of  Greece  and  Rome. 
Neither  is  it  extinct,  as  may  be  seen  by  their 
invocations  to  the  Great  Spirit,  among  the  tribes 
of  the  American  wilderness.  In  short,  wherever 
men  are  to  be  found,  there  is  the  impression  at 
least,  of  a  reigning  and  a  righteous  God.  When 
utterance  is  made  of  such  a  Being,  even  in  the 
darkest  places  of  the  earth,  they  are  not  startled 
as  if  by  the  sound  of  a  thing  unknown.  There  is 
a  ready  coalescence  with  the  theme — and  as  he 
speaks  of  God  and  sin  and  vengeance,  there  is  a 
felt  harmony  between  the  conscience  of  the  savage 
and  the  sermon  of  the  missionary. 

6.  But  there  is  a  second  faculty  concerned  in 
this  matter  of  the  experimental  evidence,  even  the 
faculty  of  internal  observation.  Conscience,  in 
the  sense  that  we  have  just  used  it,  is  that  faculty 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  97 

• 

by  which  cognizance  is  taken  of  the  good  or  the 
evil  desert  of  conduct  in  general.  But  conscience 
by  the  use  of  language  has  obtained  a  meaning 
more  extended  than  this.  It  is  implicated  with 
the  faculty  of  consciousness;  and  so  is  made  to 
take  especial  cognizance  of  one’s  own  character, 
of  one’s  own  conduct.*  One  man  is  said  to  speak 
to  the  conscience  of  another,  when  he  speaks  to 
the  independent  sense  or  knowledge  which  the 
other  has  of  the  state  of  his  own  heart  and  his 
own  history.  And  certain  it  is,  that  never  do  we 
fee]  profounder  veneration  for  any  wisdom,  than 
for  that  which  searches  and  scrutinizes  among  the 
arcana  of  one’s  own  nature,  and  comes  to  a  right 
discernment  thereupon.  The  man  who  can  pro¬ 
nounce  aright  upon  my  character,  and  accurately  • 
read  on  this  inner  tablet  the  lineaments  which  I 
know  to  be  graven  there — the  man  wrho  offers  to 
me  the  picture  of  what  I  am ;  and  I  behold  it  to 
be  at  all  points  the  faithful  reflexion  of  what  I  feel 
myself  to  be — the  man  whose  voice  from  without 
is  thus  responded  to  by  the  echo  of  conscience  or  of 
consciousness  within — the  man  who  can  awaken 
this  inhabitant  of  my  bosom  from  his  slumbers, 
and  make  him  all  alive  to  the  truth  of  such  a 
representation  as  he  now-  perceives  but  never  before 
adverted  to — to  such  a  man  we  render  the  homage 
due  to  an  insight  and  a  sagacity  so  marvellous. 
And  at  length,  to  border  on  our  argument,  this 
sagacity  we  might  conceive  enhanced  into  a  dis- 

•  We  have  no  doubt  that  the  terra  is  comprehensive  of  both 
these  senses  in  scripture — when  mention  is  made  of  the  manifesta¬ 
tion  of  the  truth  unto  the  conscience. 

VOL.  IV 


E 


98 


ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 


cemment  supernatural.  It  might  amount  to  such 
a  divination  of  the  secrets  of  the  heart,  as  nought 
but  the  interposal  of  the  Divinity  can  explain.  Ifc 
might  announce  itself  to  be  a  higher  wisdom  than 
any  upon  earth,  to  be  wisdom  from  above — and  so 
draw  the  very  acknowledgement  which  the  first 
teachers  of  Christianity  drew,  to  whom  when  an 
unlearned  hearer  listened,  he  was  judged  of  all  and 
convinced  of  all — and  thus  were  the  secrets  of  his 
heart  made  manifest ;  and  so,  falling  down  on  his 
face,  he  worshipped  God  and  reported  that  God 
was  in  them  of  a  truth. 

7.  After  these  prefatory  and  general  observa¬ 
tions  on  the  experimental  evidence,  we  may  now 
resolve  it  into  three  leading  particulars — viewing  it 
•  first  as  an  evidence  grounded  on  the  aceordancy 

which  obtains  between  what  the  Bible  says  we  are, 
and  what  we  find  ourselves  to  be — secondly,  as  an 
evidence  grounded  on  the  aceordancy  between  what 
the  Bible  overtures  for  our  acceptance,  and  what 
we  feel  ourselves  to  need — and  third,  or  most 
strictly  experimental,  as  an  evidence  grounded  on 
the  aceordancy  between  what  the  Bible  tells  of  the 
events  and  the  changes  and  the  advancements 
which  take  place  in  the  mind  of  an  exercised 
Christian,  and  what  this  Christian  realizes  in  his 
own  personal  history,  in  the  process  which  he 
actually  describes,  and  the  transitions  from  one 
state  and  one  character  to  another  which  he  actually 
Undergoes. 

8.  I.  The  first  thing  then  that  might  draw  the 
regards  of  the  inquirer  to  such  a  volume,  and 
ultimately  draw  from  him  the  acknowledgement  of 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OI  CHRISTIANITY.  99 

a  felt  conviction  in  its  divinity,  is,  the  insight  which 

it  manifested  into  the  arcana  of  his  own  spirit _ the 

perceived  accordancy  which  obtains  between  what 
it  said  that  he  was,  and  what  he  felt  himself  to  be 
— the  marks,  wherewith  it  abounded,  of  that  shrewd 
and  penetrating  sagacity,  which  can  pronounce  on 
the  mysteries  of  the  human  character ;  and  to  which 
testimony  from  without,  there  is  the  echo  of  a 
respondent  testimony  from  the  conscience  which  is 
within  us.  There  is  no  authorship  so  interesting 
as  that  which  holds  up  to  the  reader  the  mirror  of 
his  own  heart ;  and  no  wisdom  to  which  we  yield 
the  homage  of  a  readier  admiration,  than  to  that 
which  can  look  through  the  deeds  and  the  disguises 
o*f  men.  Now  it  is  conceivable,  that  the  volume  in 
question  might  stand  distinguished  frdm  all  other 
authorship,  by  its  profounder  and  more  penetrating 
discernment  into  all  the  lurking  places  of  our  moral 
econorfly — so  superior  indeed  to  every  thing  else 
of  human  authorship  upon  the  subject,  that,  by 
this  superiority  alone,  it  might  recommend  itself  to 
be  superhuman.  To  the  man  who  can  find  his 
way  among  the  penetralia  of  my  bosom,  and  utter 
himself  aright  as  to  the  thoughts  and  the  passions 
and  the  purposes  that  hold  the  mastery  there — to 
such  a  mart  we  should  readily  award  the  credit  of 
a  very  high  and  powerful  intelligence.  Now  one 
can  figure,  at  least,  the  proofs  of  such  an  intelligence 
to  be  so  multiplied,  as  to  pass  upwards  from  what 
we  have  experienced  of  the  intelligence  of  a  man, 
to  what  we  conceive  of  the  intelligence  of  a  God. 
Were  a  prophet  to’  stand  before  us,  and,  laying 
claim  to  a  heavenly  inspiration,  were  he  to  divine. 


100  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

and  with  unexcepted  accuracy,  all  the  thoughts  of 
my  heart  and  all  the  circumstances  of  my  past 
history _ this  miraculous  achievement  would  recon¬ 

cile  us  to  his  pretensions.  Now  this  very  power 
and  property  of  divinatiQn,  that  such  a  gifted 
messenger  from  on  high  manifests  in  his  oral  testi¬ 
mony,  he  could  transfer  to  the  written  testimony 
that  he  left  behind  him,  for  the  instruction  of  distant 
ages _ and  thus  what  we  should  hold  to  be  a  satis¬ 

fying  evidence  of  his  commission,  were  he  alive, 
and  did  he  address  us  in  person,  might  be  conveyed 
from  his  words  to  his  writings,  and  compose  a  book 
which  should  announce  in  perpetual  characters  to 
all  future  generations,  the  high  original  from  which 
it  had  descended. 

a 

9.  A  merely  human  author  might  recommend 
himself  both  to  the  confidence  and  the  admiration 
of  those  who  study  him,  by  the  reach  and  the 
penetration  of  that  sagacity,  wherewith  hd  finds 
his  wray  among  the  hidden  yet  the  felt  and  conscious 
intimacies  of  the  human  character.  Now  this 
sagacity  might  be  evinced  by  an  authorship  that 
professes  to  be  divine,  in  a  degree  so  marvellous — . 
there  might  be  so  minute  and  varied  and  scrupulous 
an  accordancy  between  its  representations  of  our 
heart,  and  the  responses  given  to  them  by  that 
faculty  within,  which  takes  cognizance  of  its  feelings 
and  processes — the  voice  that  is  without  may  be 
so  accurately  reflected  or  echoed  back  again,  by 
the  still  small  voice  that  issueth  in  whispers  from 
the  deeply-seated  recesses  of  consciousness — as 
first  to  draw  our  regards  tow*ards  a  volume  that 
holds  up  to  observation  such  a  picture  of  ourselves , 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  101 

and  finally  to  decide  our  reliance  upon  it,  as  begin 
indeed  a  communication  that  hath  proceeded  from 
a  higher  quarter  than  from  any  individual,  or  any 
party  of  individuals  within  the  limits  of  our  species. 
It  is  a  conclusion,  drawn  from  the  correct  scrutiny 
wherewith  the  author  of  this  book  enters  among 
the  arcana  of  the  human  constitution,  and  so  pro¬ 
nounces  of  this  microcosm  within  the  breast,  as  to 
evince  a  superhuman  acquaintance  with  its  laws 
and  its  processes.  This  evidence  is  founded  on 
the  accordancy  between  what  is  in  the  book,  and 
what  is  in  the  chamber  of  our  own  moral  and 
spiritual  economy.  Our  reading  of  the  volume 
unfolds  to  us  the  one.  The  faculty  of  conscious¬ 
ness,  awake  and  enlightened,  unfolds  to  us  the 
other ;  and  the  agreement  between  these  two  might 
be  spread  out  and  sustained  in  a  way  so  evi¬ 
dently  superhuman,  as  to  evince  that  he  who  con¬ 
structed  the  volume  had  a  superhuman  acquaintance 
with  all  the  peculiarities  and  the  wants  and  the 
phases  of  that  nature  to  which  it  constantly  refers 
and  for  whose  benefit  it  was  framed.  To  come  in 
contact  with  this  evidence,  we  do  not  need  to  range 
abroad  over  the  walks  of  a  lofty  or  recondite 
scholarship.  The  whole  apparatus  that  seems 
requisite  for  the  impression  of  it,  is  to  be  in  pos¬ 
session  of  a  Bible  and  of  a  conscience — and,  with 
the  readings  of  the  one,  to  combine  the  reflections 
of  the  other. 

10.  There  is  one  most  notable  example  that 
might  be  given  of  this  species  of  accordancy  between 
what  the  book  says  that  we  are — and  what  we, 
should  our  attention  be  earnestly  directed  to  our- 


102  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

selves  and  our  consciences  be  prepared  for  an 
enlightened  decision,  must  feel  ourselves  to  be. 
We  refer  to  the  assertion,  that  is  so  often  repeated 
throughout  the  pages  of  this  protest  revelation,  of 
man’s  total  and  universal  depravity.  It  was  a 
fearful  thing,  with  this  high  pretence  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  message  to  a  divine  inspiration,  it  was  a  fearful 
thing  thus  to  commit  itself  to  an  affirmation,  on 
which  it  stood  liable  to  be  confronted  with  the 
experience  of  one  and  all  of  the  human  species.  Had 
it  spoken  to  us  of  distant  things,  in  distant  and  by 
us  unexplored  parts  of  the  universe,  it  might  have 
been  safe  from  all  the  cross-examinations  of  those 
on  whom  it  had  made  the  high  demand  of  their 
faith  and  their  obedience.  Of  that  remote  and 
lofty  region  it  may  have  told  us  many  things, 
without  the  hazard  of  any  effectual  resistance  on. 
the  part  of  those  who  had  no  contrary  experience  o* 
their  own  to  oppose  it.  But  when,  in  addition  to 
things  that  lie  afar,  and  which  it  professes  to  have 
fetched  from  the  upper  sanctuary — it  tells  us  of 
things  that  lie  within  the  precincts  of.  our  own 
daily  and  familiar  experience — when,  instead  of 
bringing  its  informations  from  a  land  of  dimness  and 
mystery,  it  maketh  averment  in  regard  to  such 
facts  and  phenomena  as  are  accessible  to  all — more 
especially,  when  it  ventures  on  the  ground  of  a 
man’s  own  heart  and  history ;  and  proclaims  to  his 
face  that  such  is  the  uniform  character  of  the  one, 
and  such  has  been  the  uniform  style  and  complexion 
of  the  other — when  it  speaks  of  that  which  is  so 
near  at  hand,  and  stakes  its  credit  on  the  affirma¬ 
tion  of  things  within  our  own  bosom,  and  that  \vc, 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY#  103 

therefore,  should  intimately  know — Then  it  comes 
under  the  ordeal  of  man’s  severest  judgment, 
because,  while  it  hath  mortified  his  pride,  it  hath 
laid  itself  open  to  the  scrutiny  of  his  most  close  and 
intimate  observation.  Man  hath  no  antecedent 
knowledge  wherewith  to  confront  the  messenger, 
who  fetches  down  information  from  the  altitudes  of 
heaven ;  but  he  may  be  well  able  to  confront  him, 
when  told  of  the  things  that  lie  within  the  grasp 
of  his  own  consciousness — because  all  within  the 
limits  of  his  own  moral  and  spiritual  economy. 
He  may  know,  for  example,  whether  he  lives  with¬ 
out  God  in  the  world.  He  may  know  whether  or 
not  there  be  such  a  thing  as  the  fear  of  God  before 
his  eyes.  It  is  a  matter  of  fact  that  lies  within 
the  reach  of  his  internal  observation,  whether  the 
affection  he  bears  to  the  things  that  are  made  hath 
wholly  dispossessed  him  of  the  affection  he  owes  to 
Him  who  formed  all  and  who  upholds  all.  He 
might  knowr,  upon  prior  and  independent  ground, 
whether  he  be  justly  chargeable  with  all  that  foul 
and  fearful  guilt  which  the  scriptures  have  so  boldly 
denounced  against  him.  Had  they  restricted  their 
information  to  the  things  of  heaven  that  are  without 
our  reach,  they  might  have  claimed  the  deference 
of  our  entire  understanding,  and  reposed  on  the 
strength  of  their  external  evidence  alone.  But 
they  have  touched  furthermore  on  the  things  of 
earth  that  are  within  our  reach,  and.  in  so  doing, 
they  have  made  an  appeal  to  the  consciences  of 
men — they  have  placed  themselves  at  the  bar  of  a 
human  reckoning,  where,  if  they  are  convicted  of 
error,  the  fallacy  of  their  high  pretensions  will  be 


104  ON -THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 


instantly  exposed ;  or  where,  it  may  possibly  be 
found,  that  such  is  the  marvellous  truth  even  in 
their  most  singular  and  most  startling  affirmations, 
as  to  stamp  upon  this  extraordinary  volume  the 
credit  and  the  character  of  that  divinity  which  it 
claims. 

1 1 .  But,  as  in  other  examples,  this  part  too  of 
the  subject-matter  of  scripture  has  been  turned 
into  an  objection  against  it.  It  is  not  to  be  told, 
how  much  of  odium  and  resistance  the  affirmation 
in  the  Bible,  of  the  blight  or  the  great  moral 
degeneracy  wherewith  our  species  have  been 
smitten,  has  had  to  encounter.  Had  it  kept  on 
the  ground  of  vague  and  inapplicable  generalities, 
the  doctrine  might  have  been  tolerated,  as  a 
harmless,  or  even  a  plausible  speculation.  But  it 
has  not  only  made  a  sweeping  and  indiscriminate 
charge  against  humanity  in  the  lump;  it  has 
brought  the  charge  so  specifically  home  to  each 
individual,  it  has  sent  it  forth  with  an  aim  so 
pointed  and  so  personal,  that  there  is  not  any  who 
can  make  his  escape  from  it.  While  it  has  made 
broad  and  general  accusation  of  all,  it  has  also 
given  such  express  and  special  direction  of  it  to 
each  and  to  every ;  it  has  spoken  so  unsparingly 
and  in  such  unmeasured  terms  even  of  the  loveliest 
of  our  kind ;  and,  without  regard  to  the  varieties 
of  the  better  or  the  worse,  hath  lifted  the  stern 
denunciation  that  none  is  righteous,  no  not  one, 
that  all  the  righteousness  which  our  nature  can 
claim  is  as  filthy  rags,  that  the  whole  wrorld  is 
guilty  before  God,  that  all  are  the  children  of 
wrath,  that  all  are  the  heirs  of  damnation.  It  ia 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  105 

truly  not  to  be  wondered  at — it  is  a  most  natural 
reaction  on  the  part  of  arraigned  and  vilified 
humanity — it  is  just  the  revolt  that  we  should  have 
expected,  and  expected  too  from  those  of  her 
children  who  were  the  loveliest  in  charity  or  stood 
the  most  erect  in  the  pride  of  their  own  native 
integrity  and  honour — when  they  shrink  with  veriest 
disgust  from  such  a  low  and  loathsome  representa¬ 
tion  of  our  nature ;  and  are  heard  to  exclaim 
against  it  as  the  hateful  dogma  of  a  theology  the 
most  unfeeling  and  barbarous. 

12.  We  feel  too,  that,  by  such  an  averment  as 
this,  invasion  is  made  on  the  province  of  man’s 
own  natural  and  independent  knowledge.  It  makes 
no  transgression  of  its  legitimate  boundaries,  when, 
on  the  question  of  the  quid  oportet,  it  claims  a 
right  of  cognizance  over  both  the  terrestrial  and 
the  celestial  ethics;  and,  on  the  question  of  the 
quid  est,  though  it  has  given  up  the  celestial  to 
the  informations  of  a  messenger  from  heaven,  yet, 
on  the  terrestrial  field,  it  hath  a  prior  and  indepen¬ 
dent  observation  of  its  own,  and  can  lay  its  imme¬ 
diate  hold  on  all  the  facts  which  lie  within  the 
confines  of  sight  and  of  experience.  In  virtue  then 
of  this  ample  cognizance  which  it  is  competent  for 
it  to  take  of  the  quid  oportet ,  we  should  at  least 
know  what  of  duty  we  owe  to  the  God  who  formed 
and  who  sustains  us.  And,  in  virtue  of  that  more 
limited  cognizance  which  we  can  take  of  the  quid 
est ,  we  may  at  least,  one  should  think,  venture  so 
far  as  to  judge  of  our  own  hearts  and  our  own 
lives,  and  pronounce  upon  the  home  question  of 
fact — whether  this  duty  be  actually  rendered.  At 

k  2 


106  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

this  part  of  the  investigation*  we  stand  upon  that 
debateable  ground,  on  which  an  adjustment  ought 
to  be  made,  between  the  light  of  conscience  and 
observation  or  the  light  of  nature  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  light  of  a  professed  revelation  on  the  other; 
and  it  is  wholly  impossible  to  avoid  making  refer¬ 
ence  to  both.  In  this  instance  these  two  lights 
as  it  were  cross  each  other,  or  rather,  both  have 
descended  upon  the  same  subject;  and  each  hath 
given  to  it  a  special  illumination  of  its  own.  They 
are  like  two  witnesses  who  might  be  confronted 
either  to  their  mutual  discredit,  or  to  their  joint  and 
honourable  vindication.  At  all  events,  the  one 
has  uttered  an  affirmation  in  regard  to  a  matter, 
upon  which  the  other  has  an  immediate  eye ;  and, 
out  of  the  discrepancy  or  out  of  the  agreement 
between  the  utterance  of  the  first  and  the  finding 

o 

of  the  second,  we  might  draw  a  conclusion  of 
highest  importance  to  the  claims  and  the  credentials 
of  both. 

13.  First  then  as  to  the  quid  oportet  of  this 
question,  the  duty  or  the  ethical  relation  that  sub¬ 
sists  between  the  creature  and  his  Creator — let 
nature  be  called  in  to  pronounce  upon  it,  and  by 
the  light  too  of  her  own  principles.  Let  her  but 
attend  to  the  complete  sovereignty  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  as  complete  subordination  upon  the  other. 
Let  her  think  more  especially  of  man,  upholden, 
in  the  mechanism  of  his  delicate  and  complicated 
frame  work,  by  the  care  of  an  unseen  but  unerring 
hand — of  that  wakeful  guardianship  which  never 
for  one  moment  is  intermitted,  and  is  kept  up  for 
years  together  under  all  the  thoughtless  ingratitude 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  107 

of  him  who  is  its  object — of  the  thousand  circum¬ 
stances  above  all,  of  which  the  great  and  the  living 
energy  that  is  above  us  has  the  most  perfect 
control,  and,  by  the  slightest  defect  or  dispropor¬ 
tion  of  any  one  of  which  we  might  be  haunted  all 
life  long  by  the  agony  of  a  sore  endurance — of  the 
fact  notwithstanding,  that,  throughout  the  vast 
majority  of  our  days,  there  is  perfect  ease,  and 
many  precious  intervals  lighted  up  by  positive 
enjoyment — of  all  the  tenderness  which  this  implies 
on  the  part  of  the  heavenly  father  whose  workman¬ 
ship  we  are ;  and  who  spread  around  us  an  external 
nature,  that  teems  with  adaptations  innumerable, 
to  the  senses  and  the  organs  wherewith  He  Him¬ 
self  has  furnished  us.  Let  us  only  think  that  on 
His  simple  will  is  suspended,  the  difference  between 
our  annihilation  and  our  being;  and  that,  if  by  the 
withdrawment  of  His  sustaining  energy  our  heart 
should  cease  to  beat  or  our  blood  to  circulate,  the 
change  to  each  of  us  would  be  fully  as  momentous, 
as  if  all  the  lights  of  the  universe  were  put  out, 
and  this  earth  and  these  heavens  were  swept  away. 
Let  us  then  think  of  this  God,  on  whom  we  so 
wholly  depend,  calling  for  no  other  return,  than 
the  services  of  love  to  Himself,  and  of  kindness  to 
all  the  children  of  His  family ;  and,  in  the  render¬ 
ing  of  which,  we  advance  to  the  uttermost  the 
worth  and  the  dignity  of  our  own  nature.  Let  us 
think  too  of  God  as  a  Being  concerned  in  the 
morality  of  his  creatures;  that  He  holds  their 
virtue  to  be  His  glory,  and  their  vice  to  be  that 
nuisance  upon  the  face  of  creation  by  which  the 
high  majesty  of  heaven  is  put  to  scorn.  On  these 


108  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

premises  surely — on  what  we  feel  and  know  of  the 
relationship  between  the  thing  that  is  formed  and 
Him  who  has  formed  it,  we  might  confidently  say, 
whether  ought  can  be  named,  that  is  a  greater 
violence  on  the  propriety  of  things,  than  the 
ingratitude  of  man  to  his  Maker — or  whether  in 
all  the  records  of  jurisprudence  any  guilt  can  be 
specified,  of  more  deep  and  crimson  dye,  than  the 
guilt  of  a  careless  and  thoughtless  and  thankless 
ungodliness. 

14.  So  much  for  the  u  quid  oportet ” — a  question 
on  which  man  can  pronounce  by  his  own  moral 
light,  even  though  it  concerns  the  relationship  in 
which  he  stands  to  those  objects  that  are  exalted, 
above  him,  on  the  lofty  and  to  him  inaccessible 
region  of  the  celestial  ethics ;  and  then  as  to  the 
u quid  est ”  of  this  argument — a  question  on  which 
ne  may  pronounce  by  the  lights  of  memory  and 
observation,  when,  as  in  the  present  instance,  it  is 
a  question  of  fact,  the  materials  of  which  lie  near 
at  hand  on  the  surface  of  our  terrestrial  arena. 
The  reply  to  this  question  glares  upon  us  from  the 
whole  colour  of  our  past  history.  There  is  a  voice 
within  the  receptacles  of  the  heart,  that  sends  it 
in  secret  but  impressive  whispers  to  the  ear  of  the 
inner  man.  It  tells  us,  and  with  a  power  of  moral 
evidence  from  which  all  escape  is  impossible,  that 
we  are  aliens  from  God.  It  makes  known  to  us, 
that  a  sense  of  the  divinity  is  habitually  absent 
from  the  mind ;  and  that,  in  the  busy  engrossment 
of  all  our  faculties  with  the  things  of  sense  and  of 
time  which  are  around  us,  there  is  scarcely  the 
recognition  of  a  God  all  the  day  long.  One  man 


FOR  TIIE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY  109 

i 

walks  on  a  more  elevated  path  of  patriotism,  of 
philanthropy,  and  honour  than  another;  but  all 
of  them  walk  in  the  independence  of  their  own 
counsels.  They  have  in  truth  cast  off  the  authority 
of  heaven,  and  it  scarcely  mingles  any  perceptible 
influence  with  the  affairs  or  the  occupations  of 
men.  Let  there  but  be  a  correct  analysis  of  human 
motives ;  and,  amid  the  exceeding  variety  of  those 
which  have  a  deciding  ascendancy  over  the  spirit, 
we  shall  seldom,  almost  never,  arrive  at  a  simple 
devotedness  to  the  will  of  the  Maker.  There  is, 
on  this  subject,  a  very  sore  and  unhappy  delusion; 
and  that  has  veiled  the  actual  truth  of  the  question 
from  the  eye  of  observers.  In  the  absence  of  all 
piety,  there  is  still  many  an  upright  and  honourable 
motive  by  which  the  breast  may  be  actuated;  but 
it  were  an  unphilosophical  confounding  of  one 
thing  with  another,  to  allege  these  as  any  evidence 
of  regard  to  a  God,  who,  during  the  whole  play 
and  operation  of  these  motives,  is  never  perhaps 
thought  of.  There  are  divers  principles,  all  of 
which  may  be  good  in  their  kind,  and  yet  each  of 
which  may  be  distinct  from  the  others.  A  sense 

of  honour  is  good — instinctive  humanity  is  good _ 

the  delicacy  that  recoils  from  ought  that  is  unhal¬ 
lowed  in  word  or  in  imagination  is  very  beautiful 
and  very  good — the  fidelity  which  spurns  away  all 
the  temptations  of  interest  is  most  unquestionably 
good — the  horror  at  cruelty;  the  lively  remem¬ 
brances  of  gratitude  to  an  earthly  benefactor ;  the 
tenderness,  whether  of  filial  or  of  parental  affection; 
the  constancy  of  unalterable  friendship  ;  the  gener¬ 
ous  love  of  liberty;  the  graceful  sensibility  that. 


I  10  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

• 

not  only  weeps  over  human  wretchedness,  but 
lavishes  upon  it  of  its  succour  as  well  as  its  sym¬ 
pathy — these  are  all  so  many  features  of  the 
humanity  wherewith  we  are  clothed,  and  all  of 
them  are  very  good.  But,  as  they  are  distinct  the 
one  from  the  other,  so  may  they  be  distinct  from 
that  which  is  strictly  and  essentially  the  religious 
principle.  They  may  exist  apart  from  piety 
They  might  have  all  a  dwelling-place  in  that  heart, 
within  the  repositories  of  which,  the  practical  sense 
of  God,  or  a  principle  of  deference  to  His  authority 
is  not  to  be  found.  The  man  of  native  integrity 
is  a  nobler  and  a  finer  specimen  of  our  kind,  than 
the  man  of  a  creeping  and  ignoble  selfishness. 
Yet  the  bosom  of  each  may  be  alike  desolate  of 
piety.  And  this  is  the  universal  charge  which  is 
preferred  against  all  the  men  of  all  the  families  of 
our  species.  It  is  not  that  all  are  destitute  of 
benevolence  or  justice  or  truth — for  this  were 
experimentally  untrue.  But  it  is  that  all  by  nature 
are  destitute  of  piety.  It  is  not  that  the  morality 
which  reciprocates  between  man  and  man  is 
extinct ;  but  it  is  that  the  morality  which  connects 
earth  with  heaven  has  been  broken  asunder;  and 
the  world  is  now  disjoined  from  that  God,  with 
whom  it  stood  at  one  time  in  high  and  heavenly 
Relationship.  One  might  imagine  the  gravitation  of 
our  planet  to  the  sun  to  be  suspended ;  and  that 
it  wandered  on  a  strange  excursion  over  the  fields 
of  immensity.  Yet  still  it  may  bear  along  with*  it 
the  very  laws  and  processes,  which,  independently 
of  the  great  central  body  in  our  system,  now 
obtains  within  the  limits  of  this  lower  world.  It 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  Ill 

may  retain,  even  in  the  darkness  of  its  wayward 
and  unregulated  course — it  may  retain  its  chemistry, 
and  its  magnetism,  and  the  cohesion  of  its  parts, 
and  the  attraction  at  least  which  maintains  its  own 
spherical  form  and  binds  the  sea  and  the  atmos¬ 
phere  and  all  that  is  around  it  to  its  surface.  And 
so  in  the  moral  economy.  There  may  be  the 
disruption  of  our  species  from  their  God.  The 
world  they  inhabit  may  have  become  an  outcast 
from  the  region  of  the  celestial  ethics.  The  great 
family  of  mankind  may  have  wandered  from  Him 
who  is  their  Head.  The  affinity  which  at  one 
time  obtained  between  God  and  the  creatures  of 
this  lower  world  may  have  been  dissolved,  and  yet 
there  may  still  be  in  operation,  many  a  powerful 
and  many  a  precious  affinity  among  themselves. 
There  may  be  the  reciprocal  play,  even  through¬ 
out  this  alienated  planet  of  ours,  of  good  affections 
and  tender  sympathies  and  many  amiable  and 
moral  and  neighbour-like  regards.  There  is  an 
earth-born  virtue  that  will  mingle  with  the  passions 
and  atrocities  of  the  human  character,  and  mitigate 
the  else  darker  aspect  of  human  affairs — and  yet 
it  may  remain  a  truth,  not  merely  announced  by 
scripture,  but  confirmed  by  experience,  that  Nature 
hath  renounced  her  wonted  alliance  with  the 
Divinity,  that  the  world  hath  departed  from  its 
God. 

15.  That  indeed  is  a  woful  delusion  by  which 
the  natural  graces  and  virtues  of  the  human  char¬ 
acter  are  pled  in  mitigation  of  its  ungodliness. 
When  beheld  in  their  true  light,  they  enhance 
and  they  aggravate  the  charge.  For  what  after 


ON  1  HE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

all  are  these  virtues  ?  Who  gave  us  the  moral 
constitution  of  which  they  form  a  part  and  an 
ornament  ?  Who  is  it  that  causes  the  pulse  of  an 
onourable  man  so  to  beat  in  the  pride  of  a  high- 
minded  integrity?  Who  poured  the  milk  of 
human  kindness  into  the  economy  of  our  affections? 

ho  is  it  that  attuned  the  heart  to  those  manifold 
sympathies  by  which  it  is  actuated  ?  Who  gave 
the  delightful  sensibilities  of  nature  their  play,  and 

Sn/0l  t,h  the  charities  of  life  to  bless  and  to 
gladden  the  whole  aspect  of  human  society  ?  Who 

is  the  author  of  this  beneficial  mechanism :  and  by 
whose  hand  has  so  much  of  this  boasted  loveliness 
been  spread  over  the  aspect  of  our  species  ?  The 
very  Being  who  pencilled  all  the  glories  of  nature’s 
landscape,  is  the  Being  who  strewed  the  moral 
landscape  by  all  the  graces  wherewith  it  is  adorned. 
Bach  virtue,  which  serves  to  deck  and  to  dignify 
our  nature,  is  an  additional  obligation  to  HinTwho 

“  t';°  auth°r  of  ^  calls  for  a  louder  gratitude 
to  Hun  who  has  so  liberally  endowed  us ;  and 
therefore  stamps  a  deeper  atrocity  on  our  ungrateful 
isregar  of  Him.  These  moral  accomplishments 
are  so  many  gifts,  that  only  inflict  the  stain  of  a 
touller  turpitude  on  our  indifference  to  the  Giver 
and  make  the  state  of  practical  atheism  in  which 
'we  live  to  be  still  more  enormous. 

16.  We  have  already  given  an  illustration  of 
le  moral  by  the  natural  philosophy.*  In  the 
latter  science,  we  know  how  to  distinguish  the 
facts  from  the  mathematics ;  and  we  are  perfectly 

*Soe  OTir  «<  Natural  Th.ology,”  VoJ.  i.  Chap.  II.  Art.  28-SS. 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  113 


aware  that  the  mathematics  which  avail  for  the 
terrestrial,  avail  for  the  celestial  physics  also.  It 
is  conceivable  that  every  object  of  the  celestial 
physics  may  somehow  or  otjier  be  shrouded  from 
the  discernment  of  our  species ;  that  all  which  is 
known  of  the  material  heavens  might  pass  into 
oblivion,  and  be  beyond  the  power  of  our  recal- 
ment ;  that  thus  all  the  celestial  of  Natural  Philo¬ 
sophy  might  vanish  away  from  the  sight  and  the 
remembrance  of  men.  This  were  the  ruin  of  our 
astronomy ;  but  it  would  not  be  the  ruin  of  our 
mathematics — all  the  principles  of  which  would 
still  abide  in  the  world,  and  admit  of  the  same 
application  as  before  to  the  objects  and  the  dis¬ 
tances  on  the  face  of  our  earth.  And  so  it  is 
with  the  celestial  in  Moral  Philosophy.  There  is 
a  distinction  to  be  made  here  too  ;  and  the  dis¬ 
tinction  is  between  the  objects  of  the  science  and 
the  ethics  of  the  science.  Here  also  it  is  conceiv¬ 
able  that  the  objects  of  the  heavenly  region  may 
be  forgotten ;  yet  the  ethics  would  "remain,  and 
continue  to  ha\e  an  application  to  the  objects  of 
the  earthly  region.  Just  as  there  is  a  mathematics 

that  would  survive  the  extinction  of  Astronomy _ 

so  there  is  a  morals  that  would  survive  the  extinc¬ 
tion  of  our  Theology;  and  as  the  mere  existence  of 
the  mathematics  bears  no  evidence  to  there  being  an 
Astronomy,  after  that  all  the  objects  of  this  science 
cease  to  be  remembered — so  the  mere  existence  of  a 
morals  bears  no  evidence  to  the  godliness  of  man, 
after  that  God  has  ceased  to  be  regarded  by  them. 

17.  But  these  considerations,  however  fit  to  be 
addressed  to  those  who  philosophize  on  the  subjects 


114  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

of  moral  science,  are  vastly  too  general  to  be  of 
any  efficacy  with  the  unlettered  multitude.  And 
therefore  it  is  well,  that  the  delusion  which  we 
now  endeavour  to  expose,  is  not  the  one  by  which 
they  are  most  liable  to  be  misled.  They  see  the 
truth  more  in  its  nakedness.  It  is  not  so  hidden 
from  their  view,  by  the  gloss  of  sentimentalism — . 
nor  in  humble  life,  must  it  be  confessed,  do  there 
exist  so  many  of  those  graces  and  plausibilities  of 
character  which  have  served,  but  served  most 
unjustly,  to  alleviate,  among  the  higher  classes  of 
society,  the  felt  guilt  of  their  real  and  practical 
indifference  to  God.  This  guilt,  wherewith  the 
book  in  question  charges  one  and  all  of  the  children 
of  humanity,  it  is  found  of  the  unsophisticated 
peasant,  that  he  more  willingly  takes  home,  than 
the  votary  either  of  imagination  or  of  science. 
There  lies,  as  it  were,  a  more  open  and  unob¬ 
structed  avenue  between  the  volume  in  his  hand, 
and  the  conscience  that  lies  within  his  heart — so 
that  the  representations  given  by  the  one  are  more 
frequently  and  faithfully  responded  to,  by  the  echo 
of  a  consenting  testimony  on  the  part  of  the  other. 
It  is  thus  that  the  evidence  in  question  multiplies 
upon  his  observation,  more  than  it  often  does  on 
a  reader  of  lofty  scholarship  and  academic  culti¬ 
vation;  and  that  whether  scripture  tells  him  of 
the  moral  disease  that  is  upon  his  spirit,  or 
proposes  to  him  its  own  remedy  for  the  removal  of 
it — there  is  a  coalescence  between  all  that  he  feels 
within  himself,  and  all  that  he  descries  on  the  outer 
page  of  revelation.  The  very  simplicity  of  his 
mind  lav-?  it  open  to  a  more  correct  impression 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  1  15 


of  the  external  truth ;  and  his  exemption  from  the 
prejudices  of  taste  and  vanity  and  refinement 
favours  a  clearer  discernment,  both  of  the  matters 
that  lie  within  the  recesses  of  the  inner  man  and 
which  are  cognizable  by  conscience  alone,  and 
also  of  the  matters  that  lie  on  the  face  of  the 
world  and  of  general  society — on  which  even  the 
homely  and  unlettered  peasant  is  often  known  to 
cast  an  eye  of  most  intelligent  observation.  It  is 
thus — that,  having  access  on  the  one  hand  to  the 
volume  of  a  profest  revelation,  and  access  on  the 
other  to  the  whole  of  that  home  territory  which 
forms  the  scene  or  the  subject  of  many  of  its 
descriptions,  he  has  two  sides  of  a  comparison, 
from  the  one  to  the  other  of  which,  there  might  be 
a  busy  play  and  interchange,  between  the  readings 
of  the  book  and  the  reflections  of  an  independent 
consciousness.  It  is  the  sustained  and  the  varied 
and  the  unexcepted  coincidence  between  the  sayings 
of  the  volume  and  the  findings  of  him  who  peruses 
it — it  is  this  which  constitutes  the  internal  evidence 
on  which  we  now  insist.  It  is  this  which,  even  at 
the  very  outset  of  our  inquiries,  stamps  a  veri¬ 
similitude  on  this  profest  record  of  an  embassy  from 
heaven, — a  verisimilitude  that  we  believe  will  with 
every  honest  and  persevering  inquirer  be  heightened 
at  length  into  the  impression,  and  that  not  a  fanciful, 
but  a  most  rational  and  well-warranted  impression 
of  its  verity — so  as  to  make  stand  out,  even  to  the 
eye  of  our  general  population,  such  marks  and  char¬ 
acters  on  the  face  of  the  volume  itself,  as  might  palpa¬ 
bly  announce  to  them  the  divinity  that  penned  it.. 

18.  There  is  the  philosophy  of  the  subject  as 


116  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

well  as  its  poetry  in  the  following  beautiful  lines 
of  Cowper — when  he  compares  the  happier  intelli¬ 
gence  of  a  poor  and  an  aged  female  with  that  of 
V oltaire : 

“  She  for  her  humble  sphere  by  nature  fit, 

Of  little  understanding  and  no  wit, 

Just  knows,  and  knows  no  more,  her  Bible  true, 

A  truth  the  brilliant  Frenchman  never  knew  ; 

And  in  that  charter  reads  with  sparkling  eyes 
Her  title  to  a  treasure  in  the  skies. 

“  O  happy  peasant,  O  unhappy  bard — 

His  the  mere  tinsel,  her’s  the  rich  reward. 

He  praised  perhaps  for  ages  yet  to  come, 

She  never  heard  of  half  a  mile  from  home ; 

He  lost  in  errors  his  vain  heart  prefers. 

She  safe  in  the  simplicity  of  hers." 

19.  It  should  be  remarked,  that,  though  m 
illustrating  this  branch  of  the  experimental 
evidence,  we  confine  ourselves  to  the  affirmation 
which  the  Bible  makes  of  human  depravity,  this  is 
but  one  example  of  the  accordancy  which  obtains 
between  the  statements  of  scripture  and  the  felt 
state  of  the  human  heart.  The  Bible  is  instinct 
throughout  with  this  evidence — so  that  a  reader, 
at  once  enlightened  in  the  knowledge  of  himself 
and  in  the  knowledge  of  that  book  which  pictures 
man  forth  to  the  eye  of  his  own  consciousness, 
feels  in  the  perusal  of  it,  a  powerful  and  penetrat¬ 
ing  intelligence  lighting  up  its  pages.  Even  the 
one  doctrine  of  man’s  moral  depravation  is  set 
forth,  not  nakedly  and  dogmatically  like  the  article 
of  a  creed — but  often  with  incidental  touches  of 
graphic  and  descriptive  accuracy  which  awaken 
the  most  vivid  recognition  in  the  mind;  so  that 
when  telling  in  various  ways  of  man's  alienation,  of 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  117 

his  “living  without  God  in  the  world,”  of  his  “not 
seeking  after  God,”  of  “  God  not  being  in  all  his 
thoughts,”  of  his  “  loving  the  creature  more  than 
the  Creator,”  of  God  being  a  “  wilderness  and  a 
weariness”  unto  him,  of  his  “  walking  in  the  counsel 
of  his  own  heart  and  after  the  sight  of  his  own 
eyes,”  of  his  “  turning  every  man  to  his  own  way” 
— these  sayings  come  home  to  consciences  made 
alive,  and  serve  to  build  up,  at  length  to  establish, 
the  confidence  of  the  reader,  whose  repeated 
observation  of  the  Bible  as  an  unfailing  discerner 
leads  him  to  submit  to  it  as  an  infallible  guide. 

20.  Even  in  the  readings  of  ordinary  authorship, 
when  either  a  faithful  picture  is  rendered  of  human 
manners,  or  a  correct  delineation  is  given  of  the 
human  heart — how  quick  and  vivid  is  our  percep¬ 
tion  of  the  likeness.  To  the  voice  of  the  witness 
from  without,  there  is  an  instant  echo  given  by 
conscience  which  is  the  witness  in  our  bosom. 
The  remarkable  thing  is,  that  in  this  way  a  skilful 
observer  can  make  us  recognize,  and  that  imme¬ 
diately,  what  we  have  never  adverted  to  before ; 
and  what,  but  for  him,  might  ever  have  remained 
among  the  unnoticed  peculiarities  of  our  own 
character.  The  truth  is,  that  within  the  recesses 
of  one’s  own  breast,  there  may  lurk  a  variety  of 
affections  that  are  of  daily  and  hourly  influence, 
but  of  which  to  this  moment  we  have  been  wholly 
unconscious — having  never  once  cast  an  eye  upon 
them  of  reflex  observation. *  But  on  the  moment 
that  some  sagacious  acquaintance,  or  some  pro- 

*  See  this  further  explained  in  our  “  Natural  Theology,”  Boole 
IV.,  Chap.  I,  Art.  3  and  4. 


H8  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

found  and  penetrating  writer,  hath  by  his  shrewd 
remark  directed  our  eye  towards  them — it  is  a 
remark  the  truth  of  which  we  may  instantly  recog¬ 
nize,  and  a  flood  of  new  light  is  made  to  break  in 
upon  the  before  unrevealed  mysteries  of  the  soul. 
This  is  what  has  well  been  called  the  manifestation 
of  the  truth  unto  the  conscience — a  manifestation 
that  is  instantly  followed  up  by  the  consent  of  the 
inward  faculty  to  the  outward  affirmations — which 
affirmations,  we  repeat,  might  be  so  varied,  and 
reach  so  far  among  the  recesses  and  profundities 
of  the  human  constitution,  and  be  so  evidently 
beyond  the  compass  of  all  human  sagacity — that 
when  actually  either  heard  or  read  from  without, 
and  then  responded  to  by  the  light  of  one’s  own 
conscience  from  within,  they  might  impress  and 
most  warrantably  impress  the  belief  that  they  have 
proceeded  from  a  sublimer  and  more  searching 
intellect  than  any  which  is  to  be  found  among 
mortals  here  below. 

21.  Now  what  is  the  nature  of  those  scriptural 
affirmations  which  conscience  may  try  and  may 
decide  upon  ?  They  relate  of  course  to  those 
matters  which  fall  within  the  recognition  of  this 
faculty,  or  lie  upon  that  territory  over  which  its 
view  is  extended.  It  is  indeed  a  most  peculiar 
averment  on  the  part  of  the  Bible,  when  it 
announces,  and  that  without  reserve  or  modifi¬ 
cation,  the  deceitfulness  and  desperate  wickedness 
of  the  heart ;  when  it  predicates  not  of  one  mind 
but  of  every  mind  which  has  not  been  transformed 
by  the  influence  of  its  own  doctrines,  that  it  is 
enmity  against  God ;  when  it  casts  abroad  over 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  119 

the  face  of  a  world  teeming  with  specimens  of 
humanity,  the  charge  that  in  each  and  all  of  these 
specimens  we  shall  detect  such  a  love  to  the 
creature  as  is  exclusive  of  love  to  the  Creator ; 
when,  with  the  most  unveering  and  unabating 
consistency,  it  charges  a  great  moral  and  spiritual 
corruption  on  all  the  members  of  the  human  family 
— insomuch  as  to  affirm  that  there  is  none  righteous 
no  not  one,  and  that  all  are  so  much  by  nature  the 
children  of  disobedience  as  by  nature  to  be  the 
children  of  wrath.  On  this  particular  ground,  the 
Bible  stands  aloof  from  every  composition  that  has 
not  borrowed  from  its  own  pages.  We  meet  with 
nothing  like  it  in  the  whole  region  of  authorship. 
There  is  misanthropy  we  admit.  There  is  the 
indignation  of  man  against  his  fellows.  There  are 
satire  and  severity  and  sentiment  directed  against 
the  vices  of  society.  There  is  the  soreness  of 
human  feeling  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  been 
outraged  of  their  rights,  or  mortified  in  their  vanity, 
or  driven  to  spleen  and  to  solitude  by  some  morbid 
peculiarity  of  temperament,  and  there  find  relief 
from  their  agitations  by  wreaking  a  wholesale 
contempt  upon  the  species.  There  is  the  distem¬ 
pered  eloquence  of  Rousseau,  and  there  is  the 
darkly  vindictive  poetry  of  Byron,  and  there  is 
the  biting  irony  of  Swift,  all  arraigning  the  nature 
which  they  wear.  But  each  is  evidently  asserting 
his  own  controversy.  Each  of  them  is  avenging 
his  own  quarrel.  It  is  not  the  ungodliness  of  man 
which  forms  any  article  of  their  impeachment 
against  him.  Theirs  is  all  an  indictment  preferred 
against  men  for  their  universal  deceit  and  mang- 


120  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

nity,  the  one  against  the  other;  and,  with  such  a 
tone  of  resentfulness  too,  as  implies  that  they  had 
felt  themselves  to  be  the  sufferers.  It  is  in  the 
Bible  alone,  where  we  see  an  indictment  preferred 
against  our  whole  species  in  the  name  of  God. 
It  is  there  alone  where  the  universal  charge  is 
advanced,  of  departure  and  revolt  against  Him. 
who  made  them.  It  is  there  alone  where,  without 
any  tincture  from  the  soreness  of  wounded 
humanity,  we  meet  with  the  grave  and  unimpas¬ 
sioned  and  at  the  same  time  most  decisive  and 
persevering  assertion  of  a  great  controversy, 
between  God  and  all  that  is  human  in  this  world’s 
wide  and  peopled  territory.  It  is  there  that,  in 
the  records  of  an  embassy,  the  profest  object  of 
which  is  not  to  retaliate  upon  man  by  severe 
denunciation,  but  to  reconcile  him  by  the  offers  of 
pardon,  he  is  charged  with  a  sinfulness  as  universal 
among  the  individuals  of  his  race,  as  is  the  death 
which  they  have  to  undergo.  It  is  not  with  the 
Bible  as  it  is  with  the  capricious  judgment  of  man 
upon  his  fellows,  who  at  one  time  pours  forth 
upon  them  the  vindictiveness  of  his  injured  feelings, 
and  at  another  would  clothe  them  in  almost  poetic 
excellence — ever  changing  his  impression  of  the 
species  with  the  varying  hue  of  the  individuals 
who  pass  before  him ;  and,  under  the  impulse  of 
his  wayward  imagination,  vilifying  or  idolizing  his 
own  nature,  just  as  self  is  affected  by  it.  There 
is  something  which  stands  most  manifestly  and 
separately  out  from  all  this  in  the  one  constant 
deliverance  of  Scripture,  which,  without  faltering, 
affirms  this  province  of  God  to  be  in  deepest 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  121 


rebellion  against  Him ;  and  that,  in  reference  to 
Him,  all  have  come  under  a  curse,  and  all  are 
dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins 

22.  Now  for  the  manifestation  of  the  truth  of 
this  word  unto  the  conscience,  it  is  not  necessary 

that  each  should  have  a  conscience  for  all _ it  is 

enough  that  he  has  a  conscience  for  himself.  It 
is  enough  that  each  individual  man  carries  home 
to  himself,  what  the  Bible  says  of  all  men.  What 
is  true  of  all,  is  true  of  every;  and  though  each 
reader  should  retire  within  the  chamber  of  his  own 
separate  consciousness,  he  will  find  materials  there 
with  which  he  can  confront  the  Bible,  and  bring 
it  to  the  test  of  a  comparison  between  what  it 
confidently  says  and  what  he  certainly  knows. 
He  will  be  able  to  convict  this  book  of  rash  and 
ignorant  affirmation,  if,  on  consulting  his  own 
heart,  he  ascertains  that  it  loves  God;  or  if,  on 
reviewing  his  own  life,  he  finds  that  he  lives  with 
God  in  the  world ;  or  if,  on  reflecting  upon  his 
own  tastes,  he  can  aver  that  no  created  good  has 
such  charms  for  him,  as  has  the  Being  from  whom 
it  all  originated  ;  or  if,  on  considering  what  the 
prospects  are  which  chiefly  engross  and  delight  his  ' 
imagination,  he  can  say  w  ith  conscious  assurance 
that  it  is  the  prospect  of  a  glorious  eternity  in 
Heaven,  and  not  of  some  fair  resting-place  within 
the  verge  of  our  lower  world.  If  these  be  indeed 
the  habits  of  his  nature,  then  has  the  Bible  put 
itself  into  his  power,  and  furnished  him  with  a 
weapon  by  which  he  can  disprove  and  may  disown 
it.  But  if,  instead  of  speaking  against,  it  in  every 
particular  speaks  with  his  intimate  experience ;  if, 
vol.  iv.  f  ’  9 


122  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

on  entering  tlie  penetralia  of  his  inner  man,  it  there 
evinces  itself  to  be  indeed  a  most  piercing  and 
enlightened  discerner ;  if,  on  reading  its  pages, 
he  is  conscious  all  the  while  that  he  is  reading  the 
characters  of  his  own  soul,  and  is  holding  con¬ 
verse  with  an  author  wdiose  eye  and  whose  intellect 
has  taken  a  correct  survey  of  his  moral  consti¬ 
tution  throughout  all  its  hiding  places  ;  if,  through 
the  consenting  testimony  of  his  own  heart,  every 
charge  brought  against  man  in  the  Bible  is  fol¬ 
lowed  up  by  the  conviction  that  of  him  at  least,  and 
of  his  heart  it  is  true;  if  he  is  sensible  that  he  really 
is  all  that  the  Bible  affirms  man  apart  from  the  trans¬ 
forming  influence  of  its  own  doctrine  to  be— that  he 
lives  without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world — - 
that,  unmindful  of  the  desire  of  his  Maker,  he  follows 
after  the  desires  of  his  own  flesh  and  his  own  mind — 
that,  whatever  the  power  may  be  of  civil  and  natural 
restraints  over  his  conduct,  the  direct  authority  of 
God  has  no  presiding  influence  over  him — that  he 
neither  seeks  after  his  Maker,  nor  cares  to  under¬ 
stand  Him — that  he  either  dreads  God  or  practically 
disowns  Him,  and  at  all  events  has  no  filial  confi¬ 
dence  or  affection  towards  Him — that  self  and  sense 
and  time  are  his  idols — and  that  God  is  too  far 
removed  in  the  distant  heavens,  and  the  ultimate 
enjoyment  of  His  presence  too  far  removed  in  the 
distant  eternity,  to  be  motives  of  any  ascendancy 
over  the  doings  or  the  deliberations  of  his  personal 
history  in  the  world. — If  he  read  all  this  in  the 
Bible,  and  conscience  respond  to  it  all  in  his  own 
bosom,  then  might  we  not  conceive  such  readings 
to  be  so  multiplied,  and  such  responses  in  every 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  123 

instance  to  be  so  accordant  with  them,  as  to  stamp 

on  this  book  all  the  credit  of  the  inspiration  which 
it  claims  ? 

23.  There  is  no  wisdom  which  so  commands 
our  reverence,  as  that  which  evinces  its  discern¬ 
ment  of  man  ;  as  that  which  can  enter  the  recesses 
of  the  heart,  and  there  detect  all  its  lurking  and 
unseen  tendencies ;  as  that  by  which  our  myste¬ 
rious  nature  is  probed  and  penetrated,  and  there 
are  brought  out,  to  the  conviction  of  those  who 
wear  it,  the  lineaments  which  are  actually  thereupon 
engraven.  We  must  all  be  sensible  of  the  charm 
with  which  we  have  looked  to  a  picture  of  human 
Jite,  the  fidelity  of-  which  we  recognize ;  and  also 
oi  the  homage  we  render  to  him  who  can  shrewdly 
find  his  way  through  the  ambiguities  of  the  human 
character,  -and  lay  before  us  in  just  delineation  the 
various  feelings  and  principles  which  belong  to  it. 
Ihere  is  no  way  in  which  one  man  could  earn  from 
another  the  credit  of  a  more  marvellous  sagacity,  than 
y  presenting  him  with  a  copy  of  himself  that  his 
own  conscience  told  him  was  true  to  the  original— 
and  that,  just  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  the 
lines  of  resemblance  that  he  introduced,  and  to  the 
secresy  in  which  they  lay  wrapt  from  common  or 
general  observation.  But  in  this  way,  is  it  possi¬ 
ble  to  conceive,  that  the  marvellous  may  rise  into 
the  miraculous— and,  instead  of  a  skilful  moralist, 
may  he  who  thus  anatomizes  my  mental  frame 
and  reveals  to  me  its  structure  and  its  parts 
impress  me  with  the  belief  of  a  gifted  Apostle  • 
and  whether  I  hear  from  his  own  mouth  the 
divinations  that  he  has  practised  upon  me,  or  read 


124  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

it  in  the  authorship  that  he  has  left  behind  him, 
may  I  be  led  to  the  very  exclamation  of  those 
early  converts  to  our  faith,  who  felt  that  the 
secrets  of  their  hearts  had  by  their  teachers  been 
made  manifest,  and  so  they  fell  down  upon  their 
face,  and  worshipped  God,  and  reported  that  God 
was  in  them  of  a  truth. 

24.  There  is  a  peculiarity  which  often  belongs 
to  the  informations  of  him  who  tells  me  that  which 
passes  within  the  limits  of  my  own  moral  nature, 
which  does  not  belong  to  him  who  tells  me  of  that 
which  passes  without  the  limits  either  of  my  con¬ 
sciousness  or  of  my  own  personal  observation. 
He  who  relates  to  me  the  things  which  take  place 
at  a  distance,  may  relate  such  things  as  my  eye 
never  saw  and  my  ears  never  heard  of,  and  which 
therefore  impress  me  with  ah  the  strangeness  of 
novelties,  in  the  truth  of  which  I  have  no  other 
ground  of  reliance  than  the  testimony  of  my 
informer.  He  who  relates  to  me  the  things  which 
take  place  within  the  chambers  of  my  own  heart, 
may  relate  to  me  such  things  as  I  have  often  felt 
and  daily  continue  to  feel ;  but  they  may  at  the 
same  time  be  such  things  as  I  have  always  suffered 
to  pass  away,  without  remembrance  and  without 
observation.  But  it  is  very  possible  that  the 
thing  which  I  at  one  time  felt,  and  then  instantly 
forgot,  and  would  have  forgotten  for  ever,  may 
reappear  upon  the  memory,  the  moment  that  I  am 
told  of  it.  An  acquaintance  may  remind  me  of  an 
event  which  took  place  on  some  past  day  of  my 
existence,  that  but  for  his  doing  so  would  never 
again  have  been  present  to  my  thoughts,  till  the 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  125 

hour  of  my  departure  from  the  world.  By  a  simple 
statement  of  the  circumstances,  he  may  bring  up 
again  to  my  most  distinct  and  vivid  recollection, 
that  which  had  long  sunk  into  the  abyss  of  forget¬ 
fulness,  and  but  for  him  might  have  remained  there 
for  ever.  And  what  is  true  of  a  forgotten  event 
in  my  history,  is  just  as  true  of  many  of  the 
forgotten  emotions  of  my  heart.  A  moralist  may 
recal  them  to  my  notice,  and  I,  upon  his  doing  so, 
maj  instantly  recognize  them  to  have  been  my 
emotions ;  and  he  may  turn  them  into  the  materials 
upon  which  he  announces  some  principle  or  general 
law  of  my  moral  nature ;  and  I  may  be  struck 
with  this  law  as  the  accurately  just  expression  of 
what  I  had  often  felt,  but  never  till  now  had 
reflected  upon ;  and  thus  it  is,  that,  while  when 
the  traveller  relates  what  is  beyond  the  range  of 
my  observation  I  may  have  nought  to  rely  on  but 
his  testimony,  when  the  moralist  relates  what  passes 
in  the  busy  receptacle  of  my  own  feelings,  a 
thousand  recollections  may  immediately  start  as 
it  were  from  the  slumbers  of  oblivion,  and  be 
vouchers  for  him  that  he  is  a  true  discerner.  In 
one  sense  what  he  affirms  is  a  novelty — for,  though 
it  be  all  about  the  daily  and  familiar  processes  of 
my  own  mind,  yet  they  are  such  processes  as  I 
had  never  registered,  but  suffered  all  along  to 
escape  from  my  consciousness  entirely.  Yet  in 
another  sense,  it  is  not  a  novelty — for,  now  that 
he  relates  the  mental  feeling  or  mental  operation, 
my  own  memory  responds  to  the  truth  of  it,  and 
I  now  know  to  be  true  that  of  which  I  never 
before  noticed  the  existence — and,  though  I  see  in 


126  ON  THE  EXPEltl MENTAL  EVIDENCE 

consequence  what  I  never  saw  before,  yet  this  is 
simply  because  I  never  looked  upon  it  before — 
and,  now  that  I  do  look  upon  it,  I  cannot  fail  to 
recognize  it  as  the  unregarded  companion  of  many 
a  former  day,  as  the  inmate  perhaps  of  my  hourly 
and  most  familiar  experience. 

25.  Thus  it  is  that  one  man  may  diffuse  a  light 
over  the  field  of  another  man’s  conscience;  and 
guide  him  to  the  discernment  of  things  which 
respect  himself,  and  yet  which  he  never  before 
adverted  to ;  and  attest  of  him  what  he  has  not 
once  observed,  but  what  notwithstanding  he  on  the 
instant  recognizes  to  be  true;  and  by  a  succes¬ 
sion  of  bare  statements,  may  gain  at  every  step 
upon  his  confidence — for,  no  sooner  does  the  one 
relate  than  the  other  may  recal ;  and  the  affirma¬ 
tions  of  the  former  may  be  met  by  the  inward 
responses  of  the  latter ;  and  as  the  teacher  draws, 
so  to  speak,  the  map  of  man’s  moral  constitution, 
the  traces  which  had  long  faded  away  from  the 
remembrance  of  the  scholar,  may  again  come  forth 
into  visibility.  It  is  thus  that  one  man  may  not  only 
tell  to  another  such  things  as  respect  himself,  and 
which  he  already  knows — but  he  may  also  discover 
to  him  such  things  which  respect  himself  and  are 
daily  present  with  him  as  he  does  not  know. 
They  are  the  things  which  he  does  neither  notice 
at  the  time,  nor  remember  afterwards — the  fugitive 
sensations  which  pass  through  his  heart  in  busy 
and  perpetual  career,  to  which  he  does  not  advert 
himself,  but  which  he  would  instantly  recollect 
id  recognize  were  another  to  advert  to  them. 
It  is  this  which  gives  such  a  charm  to  the  descrip. 


lUR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


127 


tlve  poetry  of  him  who  often  pictures  what  all 
must  have  felt,  yet  never  may  have  reflected 
upon — and  which  confers  such  an  interest  on  the 
performance  of  one  man,  when  he  holds  up  to 
another  man  the  mirror  of  himself — and  which 
invests  the  philosophic  sage  who  has  made  our 
common  nature  the  province  of  his  studious  and 
skilful  observation,  with  the  credit  of  being  a  quick 
and  a  powerful  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and 
intents  of  the  heart — one  perhaps  who  can  pierce 
and  divide  asunder  his  way  through  all  the  dor¬ 
mancies  of  another’s  unconsciousness,  and  can 
awaken  in  the  bosom  of  many  a  disciple  such 
recollections  as  had  been  long  asleep,  and  out  of 
these  recollections  can  furnish  each  with  his  own 
image  so  as  that  he  himself  may  recognize  it. 
And  thus  again,  without  an  argumentative  process 
at  all,  without  inference  and  without  logical  demon¬ 
stration,  but  solely  by  judicious  statements  recom¬ 
mending  themselves  and  approving  their  own  truth  to 
every  man’s  conscience,  may  new  and  sound  and  most 
important  lessons  of  moral  wisdom  be  conveyed. 

26.  II.  The  second  branch  of  the  experimental 
evidence  which  we  proposed  to  expound,  lies  in 
the  accordancy  between  what  the  Bible  overtures 
for  our  acceptance,  and  what  we  feel  ourselves  to 
need.  Like  the  first  it  requires  a  comparison 
between  the  objective  and  the  subjective.  Even 
previous  to  our  contemplation  of  the  overtures  of 
relief,  our  felt  need  of  relief  could  only  have  arisen 
from  a  regard  had  by  us  to  both — that  is,  to  the 
objective,  when  we  think  of  the  character  of  God 


128  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

the  lawgiver;  and  to  the  subjective,  when  we  think 
of  our  own  character  as  the  subjects  of  His  law. 
With  our  actual  moral  nature,  we  cannot  escape 
from  the  impression  of  a  reigning  and  righteous 
sovereign,  who  cannot  be  mocked,  but  whose 
authority,  if  trampled  on,  must  be  some  way  vin¬ 
dicated  and  maintained.  On  the  other  hand,  we 
can  as  little  escape  from  the  consciousness  of  being 
defaulters  to  that  high  and  holy  government  under 
which  we  sit;  and  the  most  direct  and  palpable 
vindication  of  which  were  the  condemnation  and 
adequate  punishment  of  the  offenders.  And  thus 
a  sense  of  our  disruption  from  God,  and  of  His 
displeasure  against  us  may  be  said  to  haunt  us 
continually.  It  is  true  that,  for  the  greater  part  of 
life,  we  live  in  a  state  of  exemption  from  this  sore 
disquietude — not  however  because  we  have  laid  our 
confident  hold  on  any  relief  or  reconciliation  which 
has  been  authentically  proposed  to  us ;  but  because, 
in  the  manifold  engagements  of  the  world,  we  have 
the  faculty  of  committing  the  whole  subject  to 
oblivion,  and  can  live  at  ease,  simply  because  the 
thought  of  an  angry  God  or  of  a  coming  vengeance 
is  away  from  our  hearts.  It  is  not  because  we 
have  made  up  the  quarrel ;  but  it  is  when  we  for¬ 
get  the  quarrel,  that  we  slumber  in  the  tranquillity 
of  our  deep  and  fatal  unconsciousness.  When 
made,  fully  awake  to  the  realities  of  our  condition, 
there  is  an  unavoidable  sense  of  necessity  and  of 
danger ;  and,  with  even  nothing  but  the  theology 
of  conscience  brought  home  to  the  bosom  of  guilty 
man,  there  is  enough  to  excite  his  fears  in  the 
apprehended  frown  of  the  God  who  is  above  him. 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  129 

in  the  anticipated  terrors  of  the  judgment  which  is 
before  him. 

27.  On  this  subject  conscience,  when  once  made 
alive,  gets  the  better  of  all  those  representations 
which  are  made  of  God,  by  the  expounders  of  a 
poetic  or  sentimental  theism.  There  is  a  disposi¬ 
tion  to  merge  all  the  characteristics  of  the  divinity 
into  one  :  and  wnile  with  many  of  our  most  eminent 
writers,  the  exuberant  goodness,  the  soft  and  yield¬ 
ing  benignity,  the  mercy  that  overlooks  and  makes 
liberal  allowance  for  the  infirmities  of  human  weak¬ 
ness,  have  been  fondly  and  most  abundantly  dwelt 
upon— there  has  been  what  the  French  would  call, 
if  not  a  studied,  at  least  an  actually  observed 
reticence ,  on  the  subject  of  Iiis  truth  and  purity 
and  His  hatred  of  moral  evil.  There  can  be  no 
government  without  a  law;  and  the  question  is 
little  entertained— how  are  the  violations  of  that 
law  to  be  disposed  of  ?  Every  law  has  its  sanctions 
— the  hopes  of  proffered  reward  on  the  one  hand, 
the  fears  of  threatened  vengeance  upon  the  other. 
Is  the  vengeance  to  be  threatened  only,  but  never 
to  be  executed  ?  Is  guilt  only  to  be  dealt  with  by 
proclamations  that  go  before,  but  never  by  punish¬ 
ments  that  are  to  follow  ?  What  becomes  of  the 

truth  or  the  dignity  of  heaven’s  government _ if 

man  is  to  rebel,  and  God,  stripped  of  every  attribute 
but  tenderness,  can  give  no  demonstration  of  His 
incensed  and  violated  maj-esty  ?  There  is  positively 
no  law,  if  there  be  not  a  force  and  a  certainty  in 
its  sanctions.  Take  away  from  jurisprudence  its 
penalties,  or,  what  were  still  worse,  let  the  penalties 
only  be  denounced  but  never  be  exacted ;  and  we 

f  2 


130  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

reduce  the  whole  to  an  unsubstantial  mockery. 
The  fabric  of  moral  government  falls  to  pieces; 
and,  instead  of  a  great  presiding  authority  in  the 
universe,  we  have  a  subverted  throne  and  a 
degraded  sovereign.  If  the  lawgiver  in  his  treat¬ 
ment  of  sin  is  to  betray  a  perpetual  vacillation ;  if 
at  one  time  sin  shall  be  the  object  of  high-sounding 
but  empty  menaces,  and  at  another  be  connived  at 
or  even  looked  to  by  an  indulgent  God  with  com¬ 
placency  ;  if  there  is  only  to  be  the  parade  of  a 
judicial  economy,  without  any  of  its  power  or  its 
performance  ;  if  the  truth  is  only  to  be  kept  in  the 
promises  of  reward,  but  as  constantly  to  be  receded 
from  in  the  threats  of  vengeance;  if  the  judge  is 

thus  to  be  lost  in  the  overweening  parent _ then 

there  is  positively  nothing  of  a  moral  government 
over  us  but  the  name.  We  are  not  the  subjects  of 
God’s  authority ;  we  are  but  the  fondlings  of  his 
regard.  Under  a  system  like  this,  the  whole  uni¬ 
verse  would  drift  as  it  were  into  a  state  of  anarchy ; 
and,  in  the  uproar  of  this  wild  misrule,  the  King 
who  sitteth  on  high,  would  lose  his  hold  on  the 
creation  that  he  had  formed. 

28.  It  is  impossible  to  pursue  this  speculation 
into  its  consequences,  without  being  shut  up  unto 
the  conclusion,  that  there  is  indeed  a  moral  govern¬ 
ment  ;  and,  if  so,  that  there  is  indeed  a  law  with 
its  accompanying  sanctions ;  and,  again  if  so,  that 
guilt  and  condemnation,  that  sin  and  punishment, 
follow  in  the  train  of  each  other.  Now  what  we 
complain  of  is,  that,  in  the  great  majority  of  our 
writers  on  Natural  Theism,  wrhile  a  moral  govern¬ 
ment  is  admitted  in  the  general,  the  doctrine  is  not 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  131 


at  all  carried  out  to  its  specific  applications.  There 
is  nothing  done  to  dispose  of  the  palpable  fact 
which  glares  so  obviously  upon  us,  that  the  rule  of 
this  government  has  been  transgressed  by  every 
individual  of  the  human  species ;  and  that  all, 
without  exception,  have  become  amenable  to  the 
high  jurisdiction  of  heaven  for  their  gross  and 
repeated  violations  of  it.  Either  this  government 
then  must  resign  its  authority  and  honour  ;  or  man 
is  in  that  fearful  dilemma,  from  which  it  deeply 
concerns  one  and  all  of  us  to  know  how  it  is  that 
we  can  possibly  be  extricated.  Now  this  is  a 
question  which  the  advocates  of  Natural  Theism 
have  scarcely  ever  offered  to  dispose  of.  By  far 
the  greatest  number  of  them  have  blinked  it  alto¬ 
gether,  or  at  least  left  it  wholly  unresolved.  It 
remains  with  almost  every  one  of  them  in  the  state 
of  an  unsettled  problem ;  and  though  both  the 
character  of  God  and  the  destinies  of  man  are  most 
essentially  involved  in  it,  yet  if  touched  by  any,  it 
is  with  a  very  delicate  and  undecided  hand.  It  is 
no  vindication,  that  it  lies  not  within  the  limits  of 
their  department.  It  is  very  true,  that  it  lies  not 
within  their  limits  in  the  shape  of  a  doctrine.  But  it 
lies  within  their  limits  in  the  shape  of  a  desideratum. 
They  know  as  much  both  of  the  u  Quid  oportet 
and  the  “  quid  est,”  as  to  assure  them  of  the  conclu¬ 
sion,  that  all  men  have  done  despite  to  the  authority 
of  heaven — and  the  yet  unresolved  difficulty  is, 
how  can  it  consist  with  the  truth  and  the  unchange¬ 
ableness  of  this  authority,  that  the  High  and  the 
Holy  One,  whose  dwelling-place  is  among  the 
sublimities  of  an  unapproachable  sacredness,  how 


132 


ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 


can  He  again  look  on  His  polluted  creatures  with 
complacency  ?  How,  in  a  word,  is  the  compromise 
to  be  struck  between  the  mercy  of  God  and  the 
majesty  of  His  government;  and  in  what  terms 
shall  that  deed  of  amnesty  be  framed,  which  both 
piovides  an  outlet  for  the  divine  goodness  on  a 
sinful  world,  and  inflicts  not  an  irreparable  blow  on 

the  other  lofty  and  unchangeable  attributes  of  His 
nature  ? 

29.  It  may  not  be  for  the  expounder  of  mora. 
science  to  find  a  positive  reply  to  this  question. 
He  may  not  be  in  possession  of  resources  for  the 
solution  of  it :  but  there  lie  within  his  reach  the 
materials  for  the  enunciation  of  it ;  and  this  enun¬ 
ciation,  he  ought  to  have  bequeathed  or  handed 
over  to  the  professor  of  the  Christian  Theology. 
With  the  former  it  lies  in  the  shape  of  an  unreduced 
formula— a  formula  which  he  at  least  is  able  to 
construct,  though  not  able  to  pass  through  the 
intermediate  steps  to  the  final  resolution  of  it. 
Now  it  is  the  preparation  of  these  formulae  that 
appeals  to  us  the  most  important  service  which 
moral  philosophy  can  render.  It  can  collect  the 
data  for  the  construction  of  questions,  and  then 
piesent  them  for  solution  to  the  disciples  of 
another  and  higher  calculus.  And  how  shall  that 
God  who  hath  both  the  truth  of  a  righteous  and 
the  authority  of  a  powerful  sovereign — how  shall 
He  take  sinners  into  acceptance,  is  just  one  of  these 
questions.  How,  without  the  disgrace  and  indeed 
the  overthrow  of  heaven’s  jurisdiction,  can  heaven 
ever  be  entered  by  those  who  have  rebelled  against 
the  king  who  sitteth  on  its  throne— this,  it  may 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  133 


not  be  the  part  of  moral  philosophy  to  pronounce 
upon  as  a  doctrine ;  but  altogether  its  part  to  make 
it  over  as  a  difficulty  to  those  who  can  resolve  it. 
The  error  is,  not  that  it  has  failed  to  make  out  the 
account.  But  the  error  is  that  it  has  closed  the 
account,  and  so  sends  away  its  disciples  with  the 
impression  of  a  sufficiency  which  it  cannot  realize. 
We  do  not  require  of  it  to  put  forth  a  physician’s 
hand  to  a  disease  which  lies  beyond  the  reach  of 
its  prescriptions.  But  we  require  of  it  as  full  and 
fair  an  exhibition  as  it  can  give  of  the  disease.  We 
charge  it  with  having  misled  its  votaries  into  a  false 
and  ruinous  security — with  having  said  peace  when 
there  was  no  peace — with  the  soft  and  the  soothing 
whispers  which  it  has  given  forth,  when  it  ought 
to  have  sounded  the  trumpet  of  alarm — and,  in  the 
face  of  those  intimations  which  even  Nature  hath 
uttered  of  a  fearful  and  unsettled  controversy,  with 
having  suppressed  every  warning  of  the  danger ; 
and,  by  the  lullaby  of  a  delusive  eloquence,  having 
hushed  all  its  votaries  to  sleep  among  the  urgencies 
of  an  impending  storm. 

30.  And  it  is  further  to  be  observed  of  this 
question,  that,  if  left  undetermined,  it  not  only  casts 
an  ambiguity  on  the  character  of  God  in  heaven ; 
but  it  throws  into  a  state  of  utter  precariousness 
the  cause  of  human  virtue  upon  earth.  The 
question  is — if  mercy  shall  be  rendered  at  the 
expense  of  justice,  at  what  point  in  the  scale 
of  moral  wrorth  or  of  moral  worthlessness,  shall 
the  one  attribute  give  w  ay  to  the  other  ?  If  all 
have  sinned,  but  in  spite  of  this  the  mercy  of 
God  advances  a  certain  way  over  the  domain  of 


134 


ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 


humanity,  it  is  a  most  natural  and  we  should  think 
a  most  needful  inquiry — how  far?  By  what  line 
are  the  outcasts  of  condemnation,  to  whom  no  for¬ 
giveness  can  be  extended,  separated  from  those 
who  are  within  the  confines  of  pardon  and  pity 
from  on  high  ?  The  truth  is,  that,  in  the  absence 
of  all  that  is  clear  and  all  that  is  definite,  every 
man  will  suit  the  reply  to  his  own  imagination  ;  or, 
what  is  likelier  still,  to  his  own  convenience.  The 
law  of  heaven  will  be  brought  down  to  a  degrading 
compromise  with  human  corruption  and  human 
indolence.  Each  will  make  the  adjustment  for 
himself;  and,  sinning  just  as  much  as  he  likes, 
will  still  figure  that  the  indulgence  of  the  God  who 
knoweth  our  frame,  and  will  make  merciful  allow¬ 
ance  for  all  its  infirmities— will  be  extended  too 
to  his  own  frailties  and  his  own  errors.  The 
attributes  of  the  Godhead  will  be  made  to  play 
fast  and  loose  with  each  other ;  and  so  as  to 
accommodate  the  standard  of  the  divine  exactions 
to  the  ever-varying  practice  of  men.  There  is  a 
scale  of  moral  worth  that  comprehends  all  the 
\  arieties  of  character  in  our  world — up  from  the 
loveliest  and  most  honourable  of  the  species,  down 
to  those  who  are  sunk  in  the  worst  excesses  of 
profligacy  :  and,  as  none  can  say,  at  what  point  in 
this  scale  the  momentous  transition  in  question  is 
situated,  each  will  determine  it  for  himself;  and 
so  be  able  to  combine  the  peace  of  his  own  spirit, 
with  the  full  indulgence  of  all  its  waywardness. 
He  will  sin  just  as  much  as  he  likes;  and  yet  he 
will  hope  just  as  largely  as  his  own  fancy  or  his 
own  wishes  can  carry  him.  He  will  give  himself 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  135 

up  to  his  own  impulses  in  this  world ;  and  yet  be 
as  little  disturbed  by  the  prospect  of  another,  as  if 
he  fetched  every  practical  impulse  of  his  life  from 
the  will  of  Him  who  has  the  disposal  both  of  his 
time  and  of  his  eternity.  It  is  thus  that  a  deep 
and  fatal  security  hath  spread  itself  over  the  face 
of  oui  alienated  world ;  that  men,  even  in  the  very 
midst  of  their  rebellion,  have  no  disturbance  what¬ 
ever  from  their  fears ;  that  under  all  the  gradations 
of  morality,  even  down  to  the  malefactor’s  cell, 
there  is  still  a  vague  confidence  in  the  mercy  of 
God ;  that  they  do  not  tremble  under  a  sense  of 
His  justice,  because  they  have  confounded  the 
attributes  at  their  pleasure  and  made  the  one  to 
efface  the  character  of  the  other.  All  is  loose  and 
obscure  and  indeterminate,  under  the  lax  adminis¬ 
tration  of  a  law — whose  sanctions  have  no  fulfil¬ 
ment,  whose  threats  have  no  significancy.  This 
we  hold  to  be  the  state  of  our  academic  theism, 
and  a  state  the  more  dangerous,  because  of  that 
seeming  air  of  completeness  and  sufficiency  where¬ 
with  she  has  finished  off  the  ample  round  of  her 
demonstrations.  She  looks  with  all  the  com¬ 
placency  of  having  done  a  full  and  a  finished 
achievement,  and  that  without  one  utterance  on 
man’s  universal  sinfulness — making  no  provision 
for  the  offended  dignity  of  God  in  heaven,  and  no 
provision  for  the  prostrate  cause  of  godliness  upon 
earth. 

31.  It  is  well  that  the  conscience  of  man  is  often 
too  strong,  both  for  the  lethargy  of  nature,  and 
for  the  illusions  of  this  sentimental  theism.  The 
0ouJ  of  him  who  rightly  contrasts  the  sacredness  of 


136  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

the  Divinity  with  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  his 
own  character,  will  not  be  so  easily  satisfied  with 
the  soft  and  flimsy  representations  which  are  often 
given  of  heaven’s  clemency.  His  moral  nature, 
now  quickened  into  adequate  sensibility,  must  be 
otherwise  met ;  and  unless  there  be  a  revelation  of 
mercy  that  makes  full  provision  for  the  justice  and 
truth  and  authority  of  the  Godhead,  he  neither 
can  view  the  Lawgiver  as  at  peace  with  him  nor 
himself  as  safe. 

32.  It  is  in  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  there 
alone,  that  he  finds  that  precise  counterpart  which 
at  once  meets  this  difficulty  and  resolves  it — . 
a  constitution  of  forgiveness  which  makes  full 
exhibition  of  the  divine  character,  without  any 
violation-  to  the  jurisprudence  of  the  upper  sanc¬ 
tuary,  or  any  conflict  and  concussion  between  the 
attributes  of  the  High  and  the  Holy  one  who 
presides  over  it.*  The  atonement  of  the  cross 

*  So  that  beside  the  moral  and  the  experimental,  there  is  what 
may  be  called  the  doctrinal,  as  a  branch  of  the  internal  evidence 
of  Christianity— an  evidence  that  results,  not  from  the  comparison 
of  the  objective  truth  with  the  subjective  mind,  but  from  the 
comparison  of  one  truth  or  one  doctrine  of  Christianity  with 
another.  The  whole  scheme,  viewed  objectively,  may  abound  in 
those  symphonies  or  adaptations  of  part  to  part,  which  might 
serve  to  recommend  it  as  founded  in  wisdom,  or  as  having  a  real 
foundation  in  the  nature  of  things.  The  resulting  evidence  might 
be  illustrated  in  this  way.  We  can  imagine  the  human  bearers 
of  a  profest  message  from  some  distant  part  of  the  universe,  to 
report  certain  peculiarities  of  its  astronomical  or  physical  system, 
which  prove  that  matter  there  is  under  a  law  of  gravitation  dif¬ 
ferent  from  our  own  ;  and  yet  that  by  a  profound  mathematics, 
each  special  phenomenon  can  be  demonstrated  to  be  a  consequence 
of  that  law,  which  harmonizes  all  the  separate  informations,  and 
g:ves  consistency  to  them  all.  Let  the  apostles  of  such  a  revela- 
t.on  be  simple  and  illiterate  men,  and  palpably  ignorant  of  matne- 
matics — so  as  to  make  it  obvious,  that  the  distinct  things  which 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY  137 


adjusts  all,  reconciles  all.  It  is  the  intelligent 
view  of  this  great  mystery  which  lets  in  a  flood  of 
light  on  the  mind  of  the  beholder — as  he  discerns 
the  impress  of  infinite  love  and  infinite  sacredness 
on  that  wondrous  scheme,  in  the  contemplation  of 
which  he  finds  all  the  misgivings  of  his  own  guilty 
nature  appeased,  and  yet  his  reverence  for  the 
divine  nature  unbroken. 

33.  Thus  much  on  the  second  experimental 
evidence  for  the  truth  of  a  profest  revelation — the 
first  being  the  accordancy  between  the  statements 
which  are  there  made,  and  the  felt  state  of  the 
human  heart.  The  second  is  founded  on  the 

they  tell  could  not  have  been  educed  by  any  reasoning  process  of 
their  own.  Then  the  dependence,  the  mathematical  dependence 
of  these  things,  argues  that  they  must  have  received  by  informa¬ 
tion  what  they  could  not  evolve  by  reasoning ;  and  the  consistency 
which  obtains  in  the  matter  of  their  revelation  speaks  for  the  truth 
ot  it.  Now  the  same  might  apply  to  the  agreements,  the  profound 
and  exquisite  agreements,  which  obtain  between  the  parts  of  the 
spiritual  system — too  manifold,  and  perhaps  too  recondite,  to  have 
been  devised  by  the  messengers  who  have  been  the  bearers  of  it — 
thus  evincing  the  transcendental  wisdom  or  truth  from  which  it 
must  have  had  its  rise.  The  doctrine  of  the  atonement  is  far 
Irom  being  the  only,  though  perhaps  the  most  conspicuous,  and 
certainly  the  most  important  exemplification  of  this — providing 
the  freest  and  largest  outlet  for  the  divine  mercy,  and  yet  casting 
thereby  a  brighter  radiance  over  the  other  attributes  of  the  God¬ 
head,  and  more  especially  over  the  divine  holiness.  The  more 
intensely  this  is  viewed,  the  deeper  is  the  insight  which  it  gives 
of  Christianity,  as  a  well-compacted  system,  that,  instead  of  being 
devised  by  man,  originated  with  Him  who  presides  over  the  har¬ 
monies,  of  truth  and  of  the  universe.  The  more  that  the  under¬ 
standing  is  illuminated  to  behold  the  truths  of  scripture  and  their 
relations,  the  more  will  it  appreciate  the  Bible  as  a  well  of  hidden 
wisdom  that  is  fathomless :  and  the  more  will  it  perceive  the 
significancy  of  the  expression  “  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.” 
This  doctrinal  evidence  is  entitled  to  a  distinct  chapter  by  itself. 
But  we  must  stop  somewhere — for  however  far  we  might  pro¬ 
secute  the  theme,  we  should  still  leave  unfinished  an  argument 
that  is  in  truth  exhaustless. 


138 


ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 


accoraancy  between  the  felt  wants  of  our  nature, 
and  the  provision,  that  is  there  intimated  to  have 
been  made  for  them.  Both  serve  to  manifest  a 
power  of  divination.  By  the  one  it  proves  itself 
a  skilful  diviner  of  our  thoughts ;  by  the  other  a 
skilful  diviner  of  our  necessities.  Had  we  time  to 
expatiate  on  this  second  argument,  we  think  it 
might  be  made  palpable,  that  the  hand  of  a  God 
may  be  as  directly  inferred,  from  the  adaptations 
which  there  are  in  the  book  of  a  profest  revelation 
to  the  wants  and  the  well-being  of  our  moral 
economy— as  from  the  adaptations  which  there  are 
in  the  book  of  external  nature  to  the  wants  and  the 
well-being  of  our  natural  economy.  If  the  beauty 
that  regales  the  eye,  if  the  music  that  charms  the 
ear,  if  the  food  that  appeases  the  hunger  and 
sustains  the  else  decaying  body  in  health  and 
vigour,  if  the  many  fitnesses  of  outward  things  to 
the  senses  and  the  convenience  of  man— if  on  these 
there  can  be  validly  founded  the  conclusion,  that 
the  same  God  who  constructed  our  material  frame¬ 
work,  may  also  be  traced  in  the  manifold  con- 

gruities  of  the  surrounding  materialism _ then  might 

there  likewise  be  such  a  varied  suitableness  between 
the  needs  and  the  fears  and  the  appetencies  of 
man’s  spirit  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  doctrines  or 
the  directions  of  that  volume  which  is  addressed 
to  him  on  the  other,  as  to  put  the  legible  impress 
of  a  presiding  and  an  inspiring  divinity  upon  its 
pages.  Were  full  development  given  to  this  most 
interesting  conclusion,  we  think  that  the  evidence 
of  a  designing  God  may  be  made  to  shine  forth  as 
directly  from  His  word,  as  it  does  from  His  works. 


FOR  THV.  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


139 


And  if  we  will  only  think  of  the  vivid  recognition, 
which  even  the  most  unlettered  of  our  peasantry 
can  take  of  his  necessities  and  his  dangers ;  and 
also  of  the  distinct  intelligence  wherewith  he  can 
*ay  hold  of  the  simplicities  of  Scripture — we  shall 
perceive  that  between  the  one  and  the  other,  he 
may  have  all  the  materials  within  his  reach  for  the 
argument  before  us.  Let  us  add  to  this  considera¬ 
tion  the  principle  upon  which  Dr.  Paley  holds 
anatomy  to  be  a  better  substratum  on  which  to 
rear  an  argument  for  a  God  than  astronomy.  Let 
us  think  with  him,  that,,  within  a  narrow  compass, 
the  relations  of  fitness  may  be  so  crowded,  as  to 
give  more  intense  proof  of  a  divinity,  than  can  the 
sublime  but  simple  relations  which  obtain  in  the 
celestial  machinery  of  the  firmament — and  then 
perhaps  we  may  apprehend,  how  even  the  homeliest 
of  our  population,  with  nought  but  the  Bible  in  his 
hand  and  in  his  breast  the  microcosm  of  his  own 
spirit,  may  nevertheless  discern  so  many  adapta¬ 
tions  between  the  directions  of  the  one  and  the 
desires  or  even  diseases  of  the  other,  as  to  arrest 
him  with  the  well-warranted  conviction  of  the  same 
divinity  having  been  concerned  in  the  formation  of 
both.  And  it  may  not  be  the  conceit  of  a  fanatical 
imagination,  it  may  be  sound  and  sober  rationality 
• — when,  after  the  experience  that  this  is  the  book 
/Lose  informations  have  quelled  his  fears,  and 
cleared  away  his  perplexities,  and  lured  him  to  the 
path  of  hopeful  and  progressive  virtue,  and  reno¬ 
vated  his  who'e  character,  and  brought  him  to 
peace  with  God,  and  pourod  health  and  holiness 
into  all  the  recesses  of  his  moral  constitution — it 


140  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

may  indeed  be  as  valid  an  argument  as  ever 
philosopher  has  reared  on  the  congruities  of  the 
external  world,  when,  looking  to  the  word  and  to 
its  manifold  congruities  with  the  economy  of  his 
own  nature,  he  is  riveted  into  the  assurance  that 
verily  God  is  in  it  of  a  truth. 

34.  We  may  here  again  observe  that  the  elemen¬ 
tary  truths  of  the  Gospel,  are  not  like  many  of  the 
truths  of  human  science,  in  the  pursuit  of  which 
we  are  carried  onward  by  the  stepping-stones  of  a 
long  and  successive  argument.  They  are  brought 
forth,  more  in  the  way  of  statement  than  in  the 
way  of  demonstration.  And  it  is  not  through  a 
train  of  reasoning,  that  we  gain  for  them  the  accep¬ 
tance  of  a  man’s  understanding — but  more  speedily 
and  directly  through  the  manifestation  of  them 
unto  the  man’s  conscience.  So  that  if  this  faculty 
be  asleep,  the  intimations  of  the  Gospel  are  un¬ 
heeded  5  and  it  is  only  when  this  faculty  is  awake, 
and  the  eye  of  the  inner  man  is  open  to  its  own 
woi  thlessness,  and  sin  is  seen  both  in  its  deformity 
and.  its  danger — that  the  tidings  of  salvation  are 
apprehended  to  be  true,  and  that,  from  the  felt 
correspondence  which  there  is  between  the  offered 
remedy  and  the  spiritual  disease.  But  in  order 
that  this  correspondence  be  felt,  the  disease  must 
be  felt — the  mind  must  be  so  far  recovered  from 
its  palsy,  as  to  be  recovered  to  a  sense  and  a  con¬ 
sciousness  which  really  do  not  exist  among  the 
vast  majority  of  this  world’s  generations.  And 
hence  the  vanity  of  all  those  logical  and  lengthened 
processes,  which,  though  all  triumphant  on  that 
inarch  of  investigation  by  which  the  studious 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  141 

inquirer  is  guided  to  a  right  conclusion  on  the 
questions  of  Philosophy  or  Physics  or  Law,  have 
never  availed  for  the  conversion  of  a  human  soul 
to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  That  truth  in  fact 
often  discovers  itself  to  the  mind  of  an  unlettered 
peasant,  on  the  bare  intimation  of  it.  There  is  a 
light  which  makes  it  manifest  to  his  judgment,  that 
may  spring  up  immediately  on  the  moment  of  its 
utterance ;  and  by  which  too  he  attains,  not  a 
fanciful,  but  a  sound  and  just  and  solid  apprehen¬ 
sion  of  it.  Just  grant  in  his  behalf  an  organ  of 
discernment,  so  purified  of  all  those  obstructions, 
which,  in  the  shape  of  vain  and  carnal  security, 
have  blinded  the  perceptions  of  other  men ;  and  he 
may  see  himself  in  the  actual  characters  of  guilt 
and  ungodliness  which  belong  to  him.  And  if  a 
man  but  see  his  deficiencies,  then  by  a  single 
glance  of  the  eye  may  he  also  see,  how  the  doctrines 
of  the  Gospel  and  these  deficiencies  fit  to  one  another ; 
and  thus,  by  an  act  of  intuition,  may  a  man  with¬ 
out  learning  but  with  a  conscience  simply  awakened, 
be  made  to  perceive  what  no  erudition  and  no 
elaborate  contemplation  of  the  articles  of  orthodoxy 
will  make  another  man  to  perceive,  whose  con¬ 
science  is  unawakened.  It  is  somewhat  as  if  a 
fragment  of  any  thing  was  broken  away  from  some 
mass  of  which  at  one  time  it  formed  a  part.  All 
the  hollows  and  all  the  protuberances  on  the  one 
surface,  will  be  in  a  state  of  most  accurate  adjust¬ 
ment  with  the  corresponding  protuberances  and 
hollows  upon  the  other.  But  it  is  not  by  looking, 
however  intently,  to  one  of  these  surfaces,  that  we 
shall  come  to  ascertain  the  truth  of  this  separation; 


ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 


or,  if  reunion  be  possible,  the  place  at  which  the 
reunion  should  be  made.  It  is  not  by  the  most 
strict  and  scientific  measurement  of  the  various 
angles  and  unevennesses  which  have  been  made  at 
the  place  of  disruption,  if  we  have  only  one  side  of 
the  fracture  to  look  upon.  But  if  wre  have  both 
sides  to  compare,  the  one  with  the  other,  we  may, 
with  the  rapid  inspection  of  a  moment,  perceive, 
what  the  labour  of  a  whole  life,  expended  on  the 
inspection  of  one  side,  could  not  have  enabled  us 
to  perceive.  We  may  come  at  once  to  the  belief, 
that  here  at  one  time  a  part  was  rent  away— and 
this  is  the  very  fragment  which  has  fallen  off — and 
that  on  the  rock  from  which  it  was  detached,  we 
behold  its  precise  and  certain  counterpart — a  con¬ 
clusion  to  which  we  never  should  have  come  by 
the  single  contemplation  of  the  precipice  that  is 
above  us,  but  to  which  we  come  immediately,  and 
as  if  by  the  light  of  intuition,  on  comparing  it  wfith 
the  dissevered  piece  that  is  beneath  us. 

35.  There  are  many  high  and  heavenly  things 
announced  to  us  in  the  New  Testament.  And 
there  are  earthly  things  too,  such  as  the  hidden 
things  of  the  heart,  for  the  full  disclosure  of  which 
the  eye  of  conscience  must  be  opened,  that  we  may 
perceive  how  truly  it  is  that  the  Bible  tells  us  of 

our  wayward  and  wilful  alienation  from  God _ and 

how  righteously  therefore  He  may  hold  us  in  the 
light  of  everlasting  outcasts  from  the  place  where 
His  honour  dwelleth.  It  tells  us  of  a  great  dis¬ 
ruption  that  took  place  between  earth  and  heaven 
—and  points  out  the  way  in  which  a  connexion 
may  again  be  established  betw  een  them.  We  may 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  M3 

look  to  these  lofty  announcements  with  the  eye  of 
scholarship.  We  may  survey  in  all  its  parts  and 
varieties  that  doctrine  which  has  been  brought  for¬ 
ward  to  our  view  from  heaven  above — and  even 
delight  ourselves  with  the  symmetry  and  the  firm 
connexion  of  all  its  articles.  We  may  weigh  the 
import  of  every  verse  by  the  lexicon ;  and,  looking 
out  on  the  face  of  the  record,  be  the  most  skilled 
of  all  the  theologians,  in  the  system  of  truth  which 
it  unfolds  to  us.  But  that  our  Christianity  should 
become  a  matter  of  home  and  practical  exercise, 
instead  of  a  matter  of  distant  speculation — or  rather, 
that,  beside  its  doctrinal  we  may  obtain  a  view  of 
its  experimental  evidence  also,  we  must  look  to 
one  side  of  the  disruption  as  well  as  to  the  other 
of  it — and  if  by  the  eye  of  conscience  we  are  made 
to  see  ourselves,  while  by  the  eye  of  a  simple 
perusal  we  see  the  word  of  Him  who  hath  spoken 
to  us  from  heaven — then,  as  if  by  the  light  of 
immediate  revelation,  may  we  be  made  to  recognize, 
in  the  adaptation  which  obtains  between  unaided 
nature  below  and  that  doctrine  which  is  offered  to 
our  contemplation  from  above,  that  we  indeed  have 
broken  loose  from  God;  but  that  this  is  the  way 
in  which  the  old  alliance  between  earth  and  heaven 
will  again  be  cemented  together.  The  conviction 
is  imparted  by  what  we  see  of  the  celestial  part 
unfolded  in  the  Bible,  so  tallying  with  what  we 
know  of  the  terrestrial  part  that  lies  in  the  recesses 
of  our  own  conscience.  This  is  a  conviction  which 
does  not  wait  on  the  tardy  processes  of  human 
criticism — and  while  the  laborious  commentator 
has  gazed  for  years  upon  the  record,  and  never 


144  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

felt  the  force  of  its  personal  application — the  simple 
peasant  who  knows  himself  a  sinner  has  found 
.  out  the  adjustments  of  Scripture  with  all  the  moral 

and  spiritual  necessities  under  which  he  labours _ 

and  so,  without  one  ray  of  guidance  from  the 
literature  of  the  schools,  does  he  rejoice  in  his 
Bible,  and  has  embraced  its  promises,  and  believes 
and  most  rationally  believes  in  its  truth. 

36.  It  is  thus  that  where  there  is  a  sense  of 
guilt,  a  bare  statement  may  do*  and  do  immediately, 
what,  without  that  sense,  cannot  be  done  by  the 
most  ingenious  and  well-sustained  demonstration. 
It  is  thus  that  the  Gospel  often  finds  a  credence 
and  an  acceptation,  when  simply  expounded  among 
simple  hearers  who  are  practically  in  earnest, 
which  is  vainly  attempted  by  a  labouring  and 
ambitious  oratory  among  men  whose  fancies  have 
been  regaled,  and  whose  feelings  have  been  moved, 
and  all  whose  reasoning  faculties  have  been  put 
on  the  play  of  their  most  congenial  exercise  while 
their  consciences  .are  in  profoundest  dormancy. 
Such  men  require  a  stream  of  argument  or  the 
flashes  of  imagery  to  keep  them  awake.  The 
insipidity  of  a  naked  statement  has  no  charms  for 
them.  Were  it  the  statement  of  their  deliverance 
from  that  which  they  actually  dreaded,  they  would 
feel  an  interest — but  they  have  no  dread,  and 
therefore  it  is  that  they  seek  for  no  deliverance. 
We  stand  in  need  of  no  literary  attraction  what¬ 
ever,  to  secure  a  welcome  admittance  for  the  offer 
of  a  discharge  from  the  debt  which  oppresses  us% 
or  of  an  unfailing  cure  for  the  disease  under  which 
we  labour.  But  take  away  our  personal  interest 


I 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  145 

from  such  a  communication, — let  the  subject  of 
it  be  a  scheme  for  the  liquidation  of  the  national 
debt,  or  an  argument  on  the  effect  and  virtues  of 
a  medicine — and  that  our  attention  may  be  engaged, 
there  must  be  the  exhibition  of  proofs  and  principles 
and  processes  of  reasoning.  It  is  much  in  the 
same  way  that  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement  may 
either  be  argumented  in  the  terms  of  scholarship, 
or  it  may  be  stated  in  the  terms  of  a  simple 
affirmation.  The  argument  may  be  listened  to 
and  liked  by  men  who  feel  no  personal  concern, 
and  therefore  make  no  personal  application.  The 
statement  may  lodge,  and  with  the  power  of  its 
own  inherent  evidence,  in  the  bosoms  of  men,  who 
see  the  lineaments  of  truth  in  a  doctrine,  which 
bears  upon  it  so  many  traces  of  correspondence 
with  the  needs  and  the  fears  and  the  aspirations  of 
a  nature  which  they  know  to  be  undone.  And 
thus  it  is  that  faith  standeth  not  in  the  wisdom  of 
man.  That  power  of  demonstration  which  might 
make  us  converts  to  the  philosophy  that  he  ex¬ 
pounds,  will  not  make  us  converts  to  the  Gospel 
that  he  preaches.  Conversion  to  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Jesus,  does  not  lie  in  the  understanding  being 
reached  by  a  train  of  deductions ;  but  it  lies  in  the 
conscience  being  reached  by  the  naked  assertion  of 
the  truth.  To  go  and  preach  the  Gospel  is  not  to 
go  and  argue  it,  but  it  is  to  go  and  proclaim 
The  bare  proclamation  of  it  has  often  been  followed 
lip  by  an  immediate  belief  of  it — and  it  may  be  so 
still.  The  mere  utterance  of  what  the  Gospel  is, 
has  frequently  of  itself  prompted  the  firm  convic¬ 
tion  that  the  Gospel  is  true.  The  moment  thajt 

VOL.  IV.  G 


146  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

it  was  apprehended  as  to  the  meaning  of  it,  has  it 
bidden,  by  the  authority  of  an  evidence  that  was 
instantly  and  powerfully  felt,  an  acquiescence  in 
the  truth  of  it.  There  may  be  a  something  in  the 
doctrine  without  that  so  responds  to  the  moral 
constitution  within,  and  this  respondency  may  be 
so  close  and  so  complete  in  all  its  adaptations,  as 
to  impress,  and  impress  most  rationally  the  belief 
of  its  being  a  true  doctrine.  This  is  the  grand 
engine  of  Christian  proselytism.  It  is  not  we  think 
either  by  wielding  the  arguments  of  subtle  contro¬ 
versy,  or  by  plying  the  analogies  of  skilful  and 
varied  illustration,  that  any  effectual  conviction  is 
carried.  It  is  by  simply  promulgating  the  doctrine, 
and  confiding  the  acceptance  of  it  to  the  way  in 
which  it  meets  and  is  at  one  with  the  knowledge 
that  a  man  has  of  his  own  heart,  and  the  sense  by 
which  he  is  touched  of  his  own  necessities.  He  can¬ 
not  but  award  his  confidence  to  a  statement,  which, 
however  unaccompanied  it  may  be  with  reasoning, 

reveals  to  him  the  intimacies  of  his  own  bosom _ and 

thus  it  is  that  Christianity  commends  itself  to  the 
acceptance  oi  its  disciples,  not  through  the  medium  of 
lengthened  argument  or  lofty  erudition— but  simply 
through  the  word  brought  nigh  unto  them  and  the 
manifestation  of  its  truth  unto  their  conscience. 

— * 

37.  III.  The  proof  on  which  we  are  now  to 
enter  is  more  strictly  entitled  to  the  appellation  of 
experimental,  than  either  of  the  two  former.  It  dif¬ 
fers  from  these  very  much  as  experience  differs  from 
observation.  We  are  but  engaged  in  the  business 
of  ooservanon,  when  attending  to  the  accordancy 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  147 

which  sits  on  the  aspect  of  a  profest  revelation, 
between  what  we  perceive  to  be  its  statements 
and  what  we  feel  to  be  the  state  of  our  own 
hearts ;  and,  in  particular,  when  attending  to  the 
joint  testimony  given  by  conscience  and  by  scrip¬ 
ture  to  the  great  moral  depravation  of  our  nature. 
And  it  is  as  much  a  work  of  observation,  when 
attending  to  the  accordancy  which  obtains,  between 
the  offered  provisions  of  the  Gospel  and  the  felt 
wants  of  humanity — or,  in  particular,  when  attend¬ 
ing  to  the  way  in  which  our  natural  fears  of  guilt 
are  met  by  a  remedy  of  most  exquisite  skilfulness— 
so  that,  while  a  free  channel  is  opened  up  for  the 
clemency  of  God  to  the  most  worthless  of  our  kind 
— still  the  mercy  thus  lavished  upon  the  world, 
instead  of  undermining  that  throne  whereof  justice 
and  judgment  are  said  to  be  the  habitation,  is  a 
mercy  that  serves  to  vindicate  and  exalt  the  whole 
character  and  perfections  of  the  Deity.  In  both 
these  instances,  we  but  take  an  observation.  But 
in  the  instance  now  to  be  given,  we  undergo  an 
experience.  An  event  takes  place  of  which  our¬ 
selves  are  the  subjects,  an  event  in  our  own  moral 
and  spiritual  history — by  which,  no  doubt,  a  new 
scene  of  observation  is  opened  to  us ;  and  we 
become  the  observers  of  an  evidence  that  was 
before  hidden  from  our  eyes :  But  in  the  event 
itself  there  is  an  evidence,  which  of  all  others 

might  well  be  denominated  “experimental” _ that 

event  being  a  change  in  our  mental  state  which 
proves  in  a  direct  manner  the  agency  of  God,  and 
carries  in  it  His  attestation  to  the  truth  of  that 
scripture  which  professes  to  have  come  from  Him. 


148  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

38 ,  To  understand  the  nature  of  this  event,  we 
may  remark,  that  long  before  it  has  taken  place,  we 
may,  if  not  convinced  by  the  verity,  at  least  be 
imprest  by  the  verisimilitudes  of  the  Christian 
revelation.  The  most  unlettered  peasant,  with  no 
other  elements  than  a  conscience  and  a  common 
sense,  is  capable  of  being  thus  impressed.  And 
his  attention  may  be  powerfully  interested  long 
before  his  conviction  has  been  gained — or  long 
before  he  has  reached  that  faith  which  is  unto 
salvation.  For  anterior  to  this,  he  may  feel  all  the 
urgencies  of  fear,  and  of  desire,  and  of  a  strong 
personal  interest  in  a  question  which  involves  the 
favour  of  God  and  the  fate  of  eternity.  He  may 
long  for  the  repose  of  settled  convictions  on  the 
subject ;  and,  for  this  purpose,  may  cast  about  for 
a  more  overpowering  light  and  a  more  satisfying 
evidence  than  any  which  he  has  yet  found,  in  the 
course  of  his  anxious  and  repeated  endeavours  after 
the  solution  of  his  everlasting  destiny.  It  is  very 
conceivable,  that,  as  the  Father  of  his  spirit  is  the 
great  object  whom  in  all  this  process  of  desire  and 
of  strenuousness  he  is  in  quest  of,  he  may,  in 
addition  to  the  perusal  of  that  which  claims  to  be 
His  word,  lift  the  aspirations  of  his  soul  towards 
Him,  for  guidance  and  aid,  in  a  pursuit  which  so 
deeply  interests  himself.  In  other  words  he  may 
add  prayer  to  those  other  mental  exercises,  by 
which  he  is  labouring  after  the  settlement  of  that 
question  upon  which  hinges  his  eternity;  and  it 
were  interesting  to  know  how  the  Christianity  that 
results  from  such  a  process,  instead  of  a  reverie  or 
^  fanatical  imagination,  might  be  indeed  the  con- 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  149 

viction  of  a  manly  and  rational  and  enlightened 
piety. 

39.  We  have  already  explained  the  way  in 

which  an  answer  to  prayer  may  be  given _ and  yet 

without  violence  to  the  operation  of  any  visible  and 
secondary  causes* — how  the  accomplishment  that 
is.  wanted  may  be  brought  about,  not  against,  but 
with  the  use  of  the  ordinary  means — how  in  this 
w  ay  neither  a  special  providence  nor  the  answer  to 
prayer  may  imply  any  invasion  whatever  on  the 
generality  or  the  constancy  of  Nature’s  processes  : 
and  thus  it  is,  that,  if  the  object  of  our  earnest  and 
persevering  entreaty,  be  a  right  belief  and  an 
adequate  knowledge,  of  all  that  relates  to  the 
friendship  of  God,  and  the  well-being  of  our  eternity 
— the  answer  may  be  given,  and  yet  not  one 
sequence  connected  with  the  phenomena  of  the 
human  understanding  be  at  all  deranged  or  inter¬ 
cepted..  More  particularly,  that  sequence,  by 
which  it  is  that  a  sound  belief  comes  in  the  train 
only  of  a  sufficient  evidence,  may  be  most  fully  and 
scrupulously  observed.  And  the  terminating  con¬ 
viction,  instead  of  some  deceitful  or  visionary  glare, 
may  in  fact  be  the  result  of  certain  manifested 
proofs,  that  could  both  be  apprehended  by  the 
intellect  of  the  inquirer,  and  could  be  alleged  and 
vindicated  by  him  in  the  hearing  of  his  felW-men. 

40.  A  miracle  is  an  event  that  is  at  variance 
with  the  regular  and  ascertained  processes  of 
nature  ;  and  the  conviction  which  is  thus  awarded 
to  an  inquirer,  in  answer  to  prayer,  is  not  a 

•  See  our  “  Natu-al  Theology,”  Book  V.  Chap.  iii. 


150  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

miracle.  It  is  not  borne  in  upon  him  like  a  resist¬ 
less  and  indescribable  impression.  There  is  not 
the  visitation  of  a  preternatural  light,  or  the 
whisper  of  a  preternatural  voice.  It  is  not  given 
to  him  like  the  prophetic  inspiration  of  old — nor  is 
there  in  it  that  gleam  of  illumination,  which  would 
almost  assimilate  the  belief  of  a  Christian  to 
the  spectral  and  superstitious  fancy  of  those  who 
take  counsel  of  dreams,  and  are  credulous  of 
apparitions.  There  is,  we  are  persuaded,  an 
efficacy  in  the  humble  prayer  for  light,  of  him  who 
has  been  visited  by  a  moral  earnestness  to  do  as 
he  ought  and  to  believe  as  he  ought;  but  just  as 
the  answer  of  other  prayer  is  accomplished,  not 
against  the  use  of  means,  but  by  the  use  of  means 
— so  the  belief  that  issues  from  the  prevailing  suit 
of  him  who  hath  mingled  his  prayers  with  his 
perusal  of  the  word,  is  not  a  belief  that  is  without 
the  light  of  evidence,  but  a  belief  that  is  purely 
and  legitimately  the  effect  of  it. 

41.  To  be  convinced  how  it  is,  that  one  may 
be  made  to  believe  in  answer  to  his  prayer,  and 
yet  that  the  belief  may  be  rational  and  upon  evi¬ 
dence — let  us  only  think  of  the  effect,  were  a  ten¬ 
fold  power  given  to  the  faculty  of  sight.  Then  a 
whole  world  of  novelties,  that  had  before  escaped 
all  notice,  might  at  once  be  ushered  into  observa¬ 
tion — new  objects  altogether,  and  new  appearances 
and  shades  of  colour  in  objects,  that  before,  in  a 
gross  and  general  way  had  been  quite  familiar  to 
us.  New  convictions  of  things  would  instantly 
spring  up  in  the  person  who  had  thus  been  visited ; 
and,  instead  of  any  lack  of  evidence,  it  would  be 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  151 

evidence  at  first  hand — strong  at  least  as  that  of 
ocular  demonstration,  and  impressing  a  confidence 
upon  the  mind  as  well  warranted  as  that  which  we 
repose  in  the  intimations  of  our  senses.  There 
would  on  this  supposition  be  the  revelation  of  many 
new  facts  and  new  objects ;  but  our  belief  in  their 
reality  would  be  as  distant  as  possible  from  a  rash 
or  misguided  fanaticism.  It  would  be  vision  with 
*.he  eye  of  the  body,  and  not  the  vagary  of  a  heated 
imagination  at  all.  Neither  would  the  belief  now 
engendered,  be  the  fruit  of  any  new  facts  or  phe¬ 
nomena,  now  for  the  first  time  brought  near  to  him. 
It  would  be  solely  the  fruit  of  a  now  clearer 
and  more  penetrating  inspection,  cast  by  the 
medicated  eye  upon  old  objects.  It  would  be  the 
simple  result  of  a  look  upon  pre-existent  nature,  but 
of  a  look  more  powerful  and  perspicuous  than  we 
had  ever  been  able  to  cast  upon  it  before. 

42.  Now  the  same  renovation  that  we  have  just 
supposed  to  take  place  on  the  eye  of  the  body, 
may  take  place  on  the  eye  of  consciousness — on 
that  eye  whose  office  it  is,  to  look  inwardly  upon 
the  tablet  of  the  heart,  and  to  take  notice  of  the 
various  characters  and  lineaments  that  are  there¬ 
upon  engraven.  In  virtue  of  our  moral  earnestness, 
and  as  the  fruit  of  those  efforts  and  of  those 
prayers  to  which  this  earnestness  hath  given  rise, 
some  film  of  pride  or  of  prejudice  that  had  before 
obstructed  the  view  of  our  own  character  might 
now  be  cleared  away.  We  might  in  consequence 
be  now  favoured  with  a  reach  of  discernment  that 
we  nev^r  before  had  among  the  arcana  of  our  own 
spirit.  We  see  nothing  that  was  not  there  before; 


152  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

but  we  see  what  to  us  was  invisible  before.  It  is 
to  the  pre-existent  nature  within  his  breast,  that  he 
now  looks  to  certain  antecedent  realities,  from 
which  the  veil  that  was  formerly  upon  his  heart  is 
now  taken  away.  Let  the  power  of  consciousness 
but  be  augmented  f  and  there  is  nought  of  phantasy 
whatever  in  those  new  truths  which  now  address 
themselves  to  the  faculty  of  internal  observation. 
They  are  not  new  in  respect  of  existence;  they 
are  only  new  in  respect  to  our  knowledge  of 
their  existence — recognised  by  the  mental  eye  now 
purified  and  made  more  powerful  than  before,  and 
to  the  reality  of  which,  therefore,  we  may  have  in 
every  way  as  good  evidence  as  we  have  to  the 
reality  of  our  own  thoughts. 

43.  All  this  might  take  place,  and  as  yet  there 
be  no  evidence  evolved  in  behalf  of  a  professed 
revelation.  But  only  let  us  conceive  that  the 
same  mental  eye  which  can  now  look  with  more 
full  and  accurate  discernment  on  the  internal  tablet 
of  the  heart,  can  also  look  with  better  discernment 
than  before  on  the  tablet  of  a  written  record. 
Just  let  us  conceive  one  of  its  own  prayers  to  be 
answered — “  open  mine  eyes  to  behold  the  won¬ 
drous  things  contained  in  the  Book  of  thy  law.” 
We  do  not  ask  for  any  revelation  of  new  things. 
We  only  ask  for  the  power  of  a  clearer  discernment 
as  to  the  things  that  are  already  written.  Many, 
of  our  general  readers  must  be  sensible  of  a  certain 
repulsive  obscurity,  that  overspreads,  more  espe¬ 
cially,  the  doctrinal  pages  of  the  New  Testament 
— a  kind  of  mysterious  or  hieroglyphieal  aspect, 
through  the  disguises  of  which,  they  have  liot  yet 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  153 

been  able  to  penetrate— a  most  singular  phraseo- 
ogy,  alike  remote  from  the  language  of  common 
lne  and  from  the  language  of  general  literature— a 
sort  of  obsolete  and  exploded  nomenclature,  that 
hears  upon  it  the  stamp  of  centuries,  as  unlike  as 
possible  to  the  phraseology  in  which  those  truths  are 
conveyed  that  command  an  intellectual  homage  from 
the  philosophers  of  this  lettered  and  cultivated  age— 
an  impracticable  jargon,  they  may  even  feel  tempted 
to  call  it.,  that  is  music  to  the  popular  ear,  and 
behind  which  there  lie  certain  recondite  doctrines 
that  can  only  be  addressed  with  effect  to  the  credulity 
of  the  vulgar  or  popular  understanding.  This 
is  the  actual  film  of  prejudice  that  obstructs 
the  mental  eye  of  many,  the  most  enlightened 
m  science  and  in  all  liberal  accomplishments. 

Now  grant  but  the  removal  of  this  film _ so  that 

the  weight  and  the  significancy  of  such  things  as 
are  written  in  scripture,  might  become  palpable  to 
the  eye  of  the  understanding.  In  its  own  language, 
let  the  understanding  be  opened  to  understand  the 
scriptures ;  and  still  there  is  nothing  perceived  by 
the  thus  clarified  eye  of  the  mind,  but  such  matters 
as  were  antecedently  spread  out  on  the  field  of  this 
profest  revelation.  There  might  be  nought  of 
illusion  and  of  imagination  in  this  process  ;  and  the 
only  change  of  which  the  man  is  at  all  conscious 
in  reference  to  this  book,  is,  that,  he  now  appre¬ 
hends  the  sense  of  it— a  matter,  of  which  he  may 
have  just  as  good  title  to  be  confident,  as  he  has 
when  altogether  sensible  whether  he  understands  or 
not  any  of  the  compositions  of  ordinary  authorship. 
44.  Now,  let  us  attend  to  the  effect  of  this 

g  2 


154  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

simple  change.  If  there  be  any  truth  in  the  first 
and  second  of  the  experimental  evidences  that  we 
have  attempted  to  explain,  it  will  instantly  make 
them  manifest.  For  the  purpose  of  being  impressed 
by  these  evidences,  there  must  be  a  comparison  of 
two  tablets — one  the  inner  tablet  of  the  heart,  and 
the  other  the  outer  tablet  of  a  profest  revelation. 
If  we  have  no  distinct  perception  of  either,  then 
we  have  not  the  materials  before  us  on  which  a 
comparison  can  be  made.  But  suppose,  that,  by 
our  increased  faculty  of  vision,  each  becomes 
visible— and  then  the  accordancy  between  them,  if 
such  an  accordancy  do  really  obtain,  becomes 
visible  also.  The  one  might  now  stand  forth  to 
our  newly  enlightened  discernment  as  an  accurate 
counterpart  of  the  other.  .  And  this  perception 
coming  to  us,  not  in  the  train  of  any  logical  process 
of  reasoning,  not  as  the  fruit  of  human  argument 
or  human  explanation,  but  simply  and  directly  from 
the  more  penetrating  consciousness  that  we  now 
have  of  our  own  heart  upon  the  one  hand,  and 
from  the  more  powerful  intelligence  wherewith  we 
now  view  the  positions  of  the  written  record  upon 
the  other — such  a  perception  arising  in  this  way, 
after  a  season  perhaps  spent  in  the  prayers  and 
the  efforts  of  great  moral  earnestness,  might  pass, 
not  merely  into  a  vivid  and  instantaneous,  but  also 
into  a  most  warrantable  conviction,  that  the  great 
and  unseen  Being  who  all  the  while  has  been  the 
object  of  our  many  aspirations — that  He  whose 
eye  is  upon  all  the  characteristics  of  that  microcosm 
which  is  within  the  heart  of  man,  that  it  was  He 
alone  who  constructed  that  volume  in  which  we 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


155 


now  behold  so  minute  and  marvellous  a  reflection 
of  it. 

45.  We  must  here  observe  as  formerly,  that  by 
this  process  the  caprice  and  the  variety  of  unbridled 
imagination  are  altogether  precluded.  The  man 
who  is  the  subject  of  it,  only  sees  better  than  he 
did  before,  those  permanent  and  indelible  characters 
that  stand  out  in  the  written  record ;  and  he  sees 
better  than  before,  the  stable  identities  of  human 
nature.  It  is  not  among  illusions,  but  altogether 
among  realities  that  he  is  conversant ;  and  it  is 
out  of  the  comparison  between  one  set  of  these 
realities  and  another,  that  the  evidence  in  question 
emerges.  Out  of  such  a  process  as  this,  it  is 
not  a  fantastic  but  a  sober  and  intelligible  Chris¬ 
tianity  that  is  evolved — a  Christianity  restricted  to 
the  things  which  are  written  in  a  now  unalterable 
book ;  and  to  those  enduring  attributes  of  the 
heart  and  of  the  will,  by  which  abiding  and  uni¬ 
versal  humanity  is  characterized.  We  believe 
that  in  all  ages  and  nations,  there  have  been 
specimens  of  Christianity  formed  in  this  wray ;  and, 
so  far  from  that  interminable  and  fantastic  variety 
which  is  apprehended  in  the  process  of  sentiment 
that  we  have  now  endeavoured  to  explain,  we 
believe,  that  the  thus  originated  Christianity  of  a 
genuine  convert  in  the  farthest  outskirts  of  the 
species,  whether  at  Greenland  or  in  the  Islands  of 
the  South  Sea,  will  be  found  by  enlightened 
observers  to  be  in  substantial  agreement  with  each 
other,  and  substantially  the  same  with  the  Christi¬ 
anity  of  the  Archbishop  Fenelon  or  of  the  profound 
and  philosophical  Pascal. 


156  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

46.  But  to  satisfy  us  that  at  every  step  the 
evidence  is  valid,  and  that  there  is  no  delusion  at 
any  one  point  or  turn  of  the  process — let  us  have 
recourse  to  a  parallel  in  nature.  We  have  seen  a 
distant  land  on  the  other  side  of  a  bay  or  arm  of 
the  sea,  stretching  along  the  horizon,  and  too 
remote  for  the  observation  of  its  scenery.  But 
the  power  of  vision  may  be  strengthened  by  a 
telescope ;  and  they  are  not  illusions  surely,  but 
stable  and  antecedent  realities — which  we  are 
made  by  the  telescope  to  perceive.  Suppose 
different  individuals  to  have  the  advantage  of  this 
help  to  their  vision, — still  each  would  behold  the 
same  things,  and,  instead  of  the  phantasmata  of 
an  aerial  imagination,  the  eyes  of  all  would  rest 
upon  and  recognize  the  very  same  objects — the 
actual  houses  and  spires  and  fields  and  forests  of  a 
landscape  that  had  now  for  the  first  time  started 
into  sudden,  yet  sure  and  satisfactory  revela¬ 
tion.  But  this  is  not  enough  to  complete  the 
analogy.  We  know  the  power  of  that  chemical 
preparation  which  receives  the  name  of  a  sympa¬ 
thetic  ink.  By  it  the  impression  of  lines  and 
characters  and  pictures  may  be  made  on  paper, 
but  an  impression  which  in  the  first  instance  shall 
be  invisible,  and  shall  remain  so,  till,  by  the  appli¬ 
cation  of  a  certain  chemical  agent,  it  can  be  made 
to  stand  ostensibly  out  in  the  proper  form  and 
colouring  that  belong  to  it.  Let  this  be  done  on 
the  apparent  blank  of  some  tablet  which  we  have 
in  our  hand ;  and  only  suppose  that  what  is  evolved 
in  consequence,  is  the  accurate  representation  of 
that  very  landscape  which  the  telescope  has  just 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  157 

disclosed.  Let  the  picture  now  made  manifest  for 
the  first  time  by  one  agent,  be  the  precise  counter¬ 
part,  in  all  its  features  and  lineaments,  to  the  distant 
scene  now  made  manifest  by  the  other;  and  the 
conclusion  is  irresistible,  that  he  who  drew  the 
picture  had  his  eye  upon  the  landscape,  or  eopied 
from  him  who  had  direct  and  original  observation 
of  the  scene.  The  conclusion  is  truly  a  sound 
one ;  but  not  more  sound  than  that  of  him,  who, 
in  virtue  of  some  new  power  of  discernment,  can 
perceive  in  the  book  of  a  professed  revelation,  an 
accurate  reflection  of  the  character  of  his  own 
heart— who,  a  stranger  before  both  to  the  char¬ 
acters  of  the  outer  and  to  those  of  the  inner  tablet, 
now  beholds  them  standing  out  in  visible  manifes¬ 
tation,  and  can  note  their  perfect  respondency  the 
one  to  the  other.  The  inference  is  valid,  and  such 
as  to  stamp  entire  rationality  on  the  faith  of  many 
an  unlettered  Christian— when  he  feels  how  that  He 
v  ho  constructed  the  Bible  had  preternatural  insight 
into  the  mysteries  of  his  own  spirit — that  the 
Architect  of  this  wondrous  volume  was  no  other 
than  the  Architect  of  man’s  moral  economy,  and 
who  alone  could  pourtray  the  hidden  man  of  the 
heart,  and  bring  out  to  view  the  secrets  of  that 
mechanism  which  He  Himself  did  frame. 

47.  Now,  it  may  be  thought,  that,  by  this  pro¬ 
cess  however  real,  there  is  nothing  gained  additional 
to  the  first  and  the  second  experimental  evidence, 

which  we  have  already  endeavoured  to  expound _ 

that  by  it  we  are  only  made  to  see  the  accordancy 
between  the  now  understood  statements  of  the 
Bible,  and  the  now  felt  or  perceived  state  of 


158  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

our  own  hearts ;  and  also  to  see  the  accordancy 
between  the  provisions  which  are  addressed  to  us 
there,  and  those  moral  or  spiritual  necessities  of 
which  we  have  now  been  made  sensible — that  still 
we  have  not  advanced  any  further  than  to  these  two 
kinds  of  evidence ;  nor  is  it  seen  immediately,  how 
a  third  evidence  can  be  founded  on  that  peculiar 
method  by  which  it  is  that  men  are  conducted  to 
the  former  ones. 

48.  But  the  truth  is,  that  this  peculiar  method 
bears  upon  itself  another  impress  of  the  divinity. 
And  that,  not  merely  because  light  hath  been  made 
to  arise  in  the  mind  by  a  wray  altogether  distinct 
from  any  of  the  processes  of  human  teaching,  but 
also,  in  the  very  way  that  is  specified  and  laid  down 
in  the  book  itself.  Being  “renewed  in  knowledge 
being  “  called  out  of  darkness  into  marvellous 
light;”  having  the  “  eyes  opened  to  behold;”  having 
the  “  secrets  of  the  heart  made  manifest ;”  being 
struck  with  the  conviction  of  inward  want  and 
worthlessness  on  the  one  hand,  and  also  on  the 
other  with  the  efficiency  of  the  proposed  applica¬ 
tion — these  all  point  to  a  great  event  at  the  outset 
of  a  man’s  real  and  decided  Christianity :  and, 
should  the  event  happen  to  any  individual,  there  is 
to  him  a  correspondence  between  the  announce¬ 
ments  in  the  book,  and  what  to  himself  is  a  most 
interesting  passage  of  his  own  history,  which  might 
serve  still  more  to  evince  the  powerful  and  the 
presiding  intelligence  by  which  it  is  animated.  What 
it  affirms  is,  not  a  something  which  is  within  us, 
but  a  something  which  will  befal  us — not,  as  under 
the  first  and  implicitly  too  under  the  second  evi- 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  159 

dence,  not  a  description  of  our  present  state,  but 
the  actual  prediction  or  rather  fulfilment  of  a 
promise  in  our  future  history.  The  divination  in 
fact  is  heightened  into  a  prophecy.  “  He  that 
seeketh  findeth” — this,  if  at  length  verified  upon 
us,  and  verified  in  the  very  peculiar  way  that  we 
have  already  explained,  will  lead  us  to  the  view  of 
another  coincidence  than  any  which  we  have  yet 
specified. — Not  a  coincidence  between  the  state¬ 
ments  of  the  book,  and  the  state  of  our  own  moral 
economy ;  not  a  coincidence  between  the  provisions 
which  it  offers,  and  the  felt  necessities  of  our  actual 
condition — but  a  coincidence  between  what  to  us  is 
a  most  interesting  prophecy  or  promise,  and  the 
living  or  actual  fulfilment  of  it  in  our  own  persons 
— a  proof  most  effective  individually  to  ourselves  ; 
and  which,  multiplied  as  it  is  in  the  frequent  and 
unceasing  repetitions  of  it  throughout  all  the  coun¬ 
tries  of  Christendom,  might  furnish  a  general  and 
enlightened  observer  with  the  very  strongest  materi¬ 
als,  for  the  demonstration  of  the  reality  of  our  faith. 

49.  The  event  which  we  now  suppose  to  have 
taken  place  in  the  mental  history  of  an  inquirer, 
supplies  him  with  a  great  deal  more  than  a  mere 
introduction  to  the  first  and  second  experimental 
evidences.  It  is  in  itself  a  distinct  and  additional 
evidence.  There  is  even  more  in  it  than  another 
species  of  accordancy  beside  either  of  those  which 
come  under  the  two  former  heads  of  this  argument 
— not  an  accordancy  between  what  the  Bible  says 
we  are,  and  what  we  discern  ourselves  to  be ;  not 
an  accordancy  between  what  the  Bible  offers  as 
a  remedy,  and  we  feel  that  we  require ;  but  an 


160  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

accordancy  between  what  the  Bible  says  will  happen 
to  its  disciples,  and  what  they  experience  in  them¬ 
selves  to  happen  actually.  But  over  and  above  this 
we  behold,  in  this  great  spiritual  transaction,  the 
characters,  not  merely  of  the  divine  prescience,  but 
of  the  divine  agency.  For  it  comes  as  the  fulfilment 
of  a  promise,  and  in  answer  to  prayer ;  and  so  gives 
the  irresistible  conviction,  that  the  power  and  the 
will  and  the  knowledge  and  the  faithfulness  of  the 
living  God  are  all  concerned  in  it.  It  bears  every 
mark  of  a  special  interposition  on  the  part  of  Him  who 
“  commands  the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,”  who 
hath  promised  to  “  draw  near  unto  those  who  draw 
near  unto  Him,”  and  tells  the  sinner  who  awakens 
at  His  call  that  “  Christ  shall  give  him  light.” 
And  yet  special  though  the  interposition  be,  if  by 
a  miracle  we  mean  a  contravention  to  some  known 
sequence  or  law  of  nature,  it  stands  distinguished 
from  an  ordinary  miracle.  The  change  is  too  far 
back  for  being  a  miraculous  one,  in  the  commonly 
understood  sense  of  that  term.*  It  takes  place, 
not  among  the  known  processes  of  the  intellect, 
but  in  the  powers  of  the  intellect — at  the  margin 
of  separation  between  the  known  and  the  unknown, 
if  not  behind  it.  We  are  made  conscious,  by  this 
mental  change,  of  brighter  perceptions  than  before ; 
but  all  our  trains  of  perception  and  reasoning  pro¬ 
ceed  in  their  wonted  order  ;  and  our  faculties,  now 
gifted  with  a  clearer  discernment  of  scripture  than 
before,  are  nevertheless  similarly  exercised  in  the 
study  of  this  book  to  what  they  are  in  the  study  of 


See  “  Natural  Theology.”  Book  V.,  Chap,  iii.,  Art.  26. 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  16*1 

a'l  human  authorship.  If  by  a  miracle  be  meant 
that  by  which  a  different  consequent  emerges  from 
the  same  antecedent  as  before — then  we  have  not 
the  means  of  detecting  a  full  miracle  in  that 
gracious  change,  by  which  transition  is  made  from 
the  darkness  of  nature  to  the  light  of  the  Gospel. 
For  the  change  takes  place  on  the  first  or  remotest 
term  of  the  progression  that  is  visible  to  us.  With 
the  senses  of  the  mind  made  clearer  ;  and  our  first 
perceptions,  whether  of  the  Bible  or  of  ourselves, 
more  luminous  than  before,  we  may  be  said  to 
start  from  new  antecedents — while  after  this,  all 
the  mental  phenomena,  observable  by  us,  strictly 
conform  to  the  laws  of  the  mental  philosophy. 
Neither  is  there  any  new  creation  of  objective 
light,  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  convert  see. 
The  change  is  an  organic  one  on  his  seeing  faculties; 
or  rather,  the  removal  of  an  obstruction  which 
prevents  its  ingress  into  the  soul.  God,  in  this 
work  of  illumination,  does  not  command  the  light 
to  exist ;  but  *he  commands  the  light,  the  pre¬ 
existent  light,  to  shine  out  of  darkness,  or  to  shine 
through  the  veil  by  which  it  was  before  intercepted. 

50.  But  he  who  is  the  subject  of  this  visitation 
may  be  altogether  unable  to  philosophize  on  the 
grounds  of  that  conviction  in  which  it  has  issued ; 
or  on  the  steps  by  which  he  has  been  led  to  it. 
The  conviction,  however,  is  not  the  less  clear  or 
warrantable  on  that  account.*  He  who  has  thus 
been  made  to  see,  sees  upon  evidence  as  sound  as 


*  See  in  our  former  volume  the  distinction  made  by  us  between 
the  direct  process,  and  the  reflex  view  that  might  be  taken  of  it 
iu  the  act  of  reasoning. 


162 


ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 


to  himself  it  is  satisfactory ;  and  could  we  by  any 
means  be  made  to  know  what  passes  in  the  minds 
of  others,  as  intimately  as  we  know  and  feel  what 
passes  in  our  own  minds — we  might  from  the 
history  of  every  manifestation,  gather  a  strong 
argument,  of  a  peculiar  but  very  conclusive  kind 
foi  the  ti  uth  of  Christianity.  Such  a  general 
observation  as  this,  however,  were  not  very  prac¬ 
ticable  ;  and  tnerefore  it  is  the  more  fortunate, 
that  this  evidence,  which  it  were  so  difficult  to 
collect  from  the  history  of  others,  gathers  in 
brightness  every  day  along  the  line  of  the  individual 
history  of  each  real  Christian.  And  this  experi¬ 
mental  evidence  is  perpetually  growing.  There 
is  not  merely  an  agreement  between  the  declarations 
of  the  book  and  his  own  experience,  in  the  great 
event  that  marks  and  that  constitutes  in  fact  the 
outset  of  that  new  moral  career  upon  which  he 
has  entered ;  but  there  is  a  sustained  agreement 
between  its  declarations,  and  the  evolutions  of  his 
mental  or  spiritual  history  in  all-  time  coming. 
There  is  a  busy  interchange  of  correspondence  and 
of  mutual  confirmation  going  on,  between  what  he 
finds  and  what  it  says.  I  here  is  thus  a  growing 
confidence  that  he  attaches  to  this  book — just  as 
he  would  attach  a  growing  confidence  to  the  pro¬ 
phet  who  had  adventured  himself  on  the  futurities 
of  his  own  personal  story  ;  and,  in  favour  of  whom, 
every  new  day  of  his  life  had  brought  round  some 
accomplishment  or  other.  And  so  it  is,  that  even 
the  unlettered  peasant  may  receive  an  impression 
of  the  truth  of  this  book,  from  the  truth  of  its  mani¬ 
fold  agreements  with  his  own  intimate  experience. 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  163 

He  may  recognize  throughout  its  pages,  not  merely 
the  shrewd  discernment  of  what  he  is,  but  the  pro¬ 
phetic  discernment  of  what  he  will  be  along  the 
successive  stages  of  his  preparation  for  heaven. 
And,  with  every  new  experience  of  the  way  in 
which  its  descriptions  tally  with  the  details  of  his 
own  history — as  in  the  account,  for  example,  that 
it  gives  of  the  exercises  of  the  spirit,  whether 
under  the  afflictions  of  life  or  the  assaults  of  temp¬ 
tation — or  in  the  fulfilments  of  prayer — or  in  the 
facilities  that  open  up,  for  a  still  more  prosperous 
cultivation  of  the  heart,  along  the  path  of  an 
advancing  excellence — or  in  the  light  which  it  casts 
over  the  ways  and  the  arrangements  of  providence 
in  the  world — there  redounds  from  all  these,  and 
from  many  more  which  cannot  be  specified,  the 
glory  of  an  increasing  evidence  for  the  truth  of  that 
volume,  whose  insight,  not  only  reaches  to  the 
penetralia  of  the  human  character,  but  lays  open 
the  secrets  and  the  dark  places  that  lie  in  the 
womb  of  futurity.  This  is  truly  an  accumulating 
evidence.  It  brightens  with  every  new  fulfilment, 
and  every  new  step  in  the  journey  of  a  Christian’s 
life ;  and,  amid  the  incredulity  and  derision  of 
those  who  have  no  sympathy  either  with  his  con¬ 
victions  or  his  hopes— still  we  hold  that  the  faith, 
thus  originated  and  thus  sustained,  is  the  faith  not 
of  fanaticism  but  of  sound  philosophy;  that  his 
experimental  Christianity  rests,  in  fact,  on  a  basis 
as  firm  as  experimental  science;  that  there  is 
neither  delusion  in  the  growing  lustre  of  his  con¬ 
victions  through  life,  nor  delusion  in  the  concluding 
triumphs  and  ecstasy  of  his  death-bed. 


164  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

51.  In  these  various  ways  then  might  Christi¬ 
anity  manifest  its  own  truth  to  the  conscience  of 
every  man.  When  making  demonstration  of  human 
guilt,  there  might  be  such  an  accordancy  with  all 
that  nature  felt  of  its  own  guiltiness — when  making 
demonstration  of  the  offered  atonement,  there 
might  be  such  an  accordance  with  all  that  nature 
felt  of  its  own  necessities,  as  first  to  draw  the 
attention,  and  then  to  compel  the  belief  of  all  who 
were  thus  arrested.  The  felt  force  of  the  disease 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  felt  suitableness  of  the 
remedy  on  the  other,  might  land  them,  and  right¬ 
fully  land  them  in  such  a  consummation.  It  is  not 
that  viewed  as  two  naked  propositions,  they  can 
evince  or  establish  the  general  truth  of  the  system 
which  contains  them.  But  they  are  variously  and 
repeatedly  set  forth  in  the  sacred  record;  and 
this  gives  rise  to  innumerable  touches  of  descriptive 
accuracy,  to  a  multiple  and  sustained  harmony 
between  the  inward  tablet  of  the  heart  and  the 
outward  tablet  of  a  professed  revelation.  There 
is  an  evidence  afforded  by  the  agreement  between 
a  complex  tally  and  its  alike  complex  but  accurately 
resembling  counterpart ;  and  there  may  be  a  like 
evidence  in  the  countless  adaptations  which  obtain 
between  a  supernal  application  from  heaven,  and 
the  human  nature  beneath,  upon  which  it  has 
descended.  And  beside  these,  there  are  so  many 
other  symptoms  or  signatures  of  Truth  which  the 
conscience  can  lay  hold  of.  It  can  discern  the 
apparent  honesty  of  any  communication.  It  can 
take  cognizance  of  all  that  marks  the  worth  or  the 
simplicity  of  its  bearers.  It  can  feel  and  be 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  165 

impressed  by  its  aspect  of  undoubted  sacredness. 
It  can  distinguish  the  voice  of  a  God,  or  of  an 
ambassador  from  God,  in  its  promulgation  of  a 
righteous  law,  and  in  the  sustained  dignity  and 
effect  wherewith  it  challenges  a  rightful  authority. 
It  can  perceive  all  which  is  in  and  about  the 
message  to  be  in  keeping  with  the  high  original 
which  it  claims  $  and,  whether  it  looks  to  the  pro¬ 
foundness  of  its  wisdom  or  to  the  august  and 
unviolable  purity  of  its  moral  character,  it  can 
perceive  when  these  evidences  are  so  enhanced 
and  multiplied  on  a  professed  embassy  from  heaven, 
as  to  announce  its  descent  from  a  God  of  know¬ 
ledge  and  a  God  of  holiness. 

52.  We  may  now  understand  what  is  meant  by 
the  self-evidencing  power  of  the  Bible.  It  is  that 
in  virtue  of  which  it  announces  its  own  authority 
to  the  understanding  of  the  reader.  It  is  not  only 
the  bearer  of  its  own  contents,  but  is  the  hearer 
also  of  its  own  credentials.  It  is  by  the  external 
and  historical  evidences  of  Christianity,  that  we 
are  enabled  to  maintain  its  cause  against  the 
infidelity  of  lettered  and  academic  men.  But  it  is 
another  evidence  that  recommends  it  to  the  accep¬ 
tance  of  the  general  population.  Their  belief  in 
scripture,  and  we  think  all  saving  belief  whatever, 
is  grounded  on  the  instant  manifestation  of  its 
truth  unto  the  conscience.  And  thus,  without  the 
aid  of  sensible  miracles  in  the  present  age,  and 
without  even  the  scholarship  which  ascertains  and 
verifies  the  miracles  of  a  past  age,  do  we  hold  that 
the  divinity  of  the  Bible  may  be  read  and  recognized 
in  its  own  pages,  and  that  in  virtue  of  an  evidence 


166  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

which  might  be  addressed  with  effect  to  the  moral 
nature  of  man  in  any  quarter  of  the  world. 

53.  But  what  gives  complete  and  conclusive 
effect  to  this  evidence  is  the  revelation  of  the 
Spirit.  For  the  understanding  of  this,  there  is 
one  thing  of  prime  importance  to  be  attended  to. 
The  Spirit  when  He  acts  as  an  enlightener,  pre¬ 
sents  us  with  no  new  revelation  of  His  own.  He 
only  shines  on  that  revelation  which  is  already 
given  in  the  Bible.  He  brings  no  new  truths  from 
afar,  He  but  discloses  the  truths  of  that  word 
which  is  nigh  unto  us.  It  is  true  that  He  opens 
our  eyes ;  but  it  is  to  behold  the  wondrous  things 
contained  in  this  book.  It  is  true  that  He  lifts 
up  a  veil ;  but  it  is  not  the  veil  which  hides  from 
our  view  the  secrets  of  any  distant  or  mysterious 
region.  He  taketh  away  the  veil  from  our  hearts ; 
and  we,  made  to  behold  that  which  is  within,  and 
also  to  behold  that  which  is  without — become  alive 
to  the  force  and  fulness  of  that  evidence  which  lies 
in  the  manifold  adjustments  between  them — con¬ 
vinced  at  once  of  the  magnitude  of  our  own  sin, 
and  of  the  suitableness  and  reality  of  the  offered 
salvation.  In  this  process  there  is  no  direct 
announcement  made  to  us  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
There  is  neither  a  voice  nor  a  vision ;  no  whisper 
to  the  ear  of  the  inner  man — no  gleam  either  of  a 
sensible  or  spiritual  representation.  There  is  light 
it  is  true  shining  out  of  darkness  ;  but  it  is  the  light 
of  the  Bible,  now  made  luminous,  reflected  from 
the  tablet  of  conscience,  now  made  visible.  It  is 
not  a  light  shining  direct  upon  us  from  the  heavenly 
objects  themselves ;  but  it  is  a  light  shining  on  a 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  167 

medium  of  proof  by  which  w'e  are  made  sensible  of 
their  reality.  He  who  has  been  visited  by  this 
manifestation  can  say,  I  was  blind  but  now  I  see. 
He  may  remember  the  day  when  a  darkness 
inscrutable  seemed  to  hang  over  those  mystic — 
those  then  unmeaning  passages  of  the  Bible,  which 
he  now  perceives  to  be  full  of  weight  and  full  of 
significancy.  He  may  remember  the  day  when, 
safe  and  satisfied  with  himself,  he  neither  saw  the 
extent  and  the  purity  of  God’s  lofty  commandment, 

nor  his  own  distance  and  deficiency  therefrom _ 

though  now  burdened  with  the  conscious  magnitude 
of  his  guilt,  he  both  sees  the  need  of  a  Saviour, 
and  feels  His  preciousness.  He  is  now  brought 
within  full  view  of  the  argument  that  wre  have 
laboured  to  unfold ;  and  the  transition,  the  personal 
or  the  historical  transition,  which  himself  has 
undergone  is  to  his  own  mind  a  most  impressive 
argument.  It  forms  to  him  an  experimental  evi¬ 
dence  of  the  truth  of  Christianity — and  may  be 
regarded  as  another  appeal  to  his  conscience  or  to 
his  consciousness  in  its  favour.  He  has  become  a 
Christian  in  the  true  sense  and  significancy  of  the 
term.  The  Gospel  hath  entered  his  mind  in  the 
demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  with  power.  He 
rejoices  in  the  hope  of  its  bright  fulfilments  ;  and, 
untutored  though  he  be  in  the  scholarship  of  its 
literary  or  argumentative  evidences,  he,  though  of 
humble  education  and  humble  circumstances,  can 
give  a  reason  of  his  hope. 

54.  It  should  not  be  difficult  to  understand, 
how,  under  this  process  of  spiritual  illumination, 
men,  in  all  ages  or  parts  of  the  world,  the  most 


168  ON  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  EVIDENCE 

widely  distant  from  each  other,  are  nevertheless 
introduced  to  one  and  the  same  Christianity. 
The  Spirit  does  not  make  known  a  different  reli¬ 
gion  to  each ;  but  He  manifests  the  same  great 
truths  to.  every  understanding — the  stable  charac¬ 
teristics  of  human  nature,  and  the  no  less  stable 
doctrines  of  revelation,  fixed  and  handed  down  to 
us  in  an  imperishable  written  record.  This  will 
explain  the  mutual  recognitions,  the  felt  affinities, 
the  perfect  community  of  soul  and  sentiment  that 
obtain  between  the  truly  regenerated  of  all  coun¬ 
tries  and  all  periods.  A  Christian  peasant  of 
Scotland,  were  the  barrier  of  their  diverse  language 
removed,  could  enter  with  fullest  sympathy,  into 
the  feelings  and  the  views  and  the  mental  exercises 
of  a  christianized  Hottentot  in  South  Africa.  On 
the  same  principle,  he  would  feel  the  consent  of  a 
common  intelligence  and  common  sensibility  with 
his  author — when  reading  the  pages  of  Augustine, 
or  any  other  writer  on  practical  Christianity,  who, 
like  him,  underwent  a  transition  from  the  darkness 
of  nature  to  the  marvellous  light  of  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Were  the  materials  for  the  observa¬ 
tion  within  our  reach,  it  were  most  interesting  to 
compare  the  converse  between  two  devoted  Chris¬ 
tians  brought  together  from  the  remotest  places  of 
the  earth,  and  that,  for  example,  of  a  Mahometan 
Moor  with  a  Mahometan  Persian — the  first  two 
having  the  Bible  as  a  common  subject  of  reference ; 
the  second  two  the  Alcoran.  Each  would  sympa¬ 
thize  with  the  other  of  his  own  kind  ;  but  a  mighty 
lesson  might  be  educed  from  the  extent  and  the 
character  of  their  respective  sympathies.  In  the 


FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  169 

one,  we  should  behold  a  community  the  same 
ablutions,  the  same  abstinences,  the  same  external 
observations.  In  the  other  we  should  behold  a 
community,  of  a  far  higher  kind,  of  soul  with  soul ; 
a  coalescence  between  the  thoughts  and  affections 
and  principles  of  the  inner  man.  The  votaries  of 
other  religions  may  have  one  baptism.  They  are 
the  votaries  of  the  Christian  religion  alone  who  have 
one  Lord,  that  dwells  in  them  and  makes  then* 
one  both  with  Himself  and  with  each  other;  one 
faith,  that,  working  by  love,  has  the  entire  mastery 
over  both  their  intellectual  and  their  moral  nature 
— and,  subordinating  the  whole  heart  and  history 
to  the  same  great  principle,  begets  that  likeness 
or  identity  between  all  the  members  however 
scattered  of  Christ’s  spiritual  family,  which  is 
expressed  in  our  theological  systems  by  the  com¬ 
munion  of  the  saints.  They  are  bound  together 
by  the  tie  of  their  common  sympathies,  and  their 
common  hopes ;  and,  in  the  topics  of  converse 
suggested  by  these,  they  have  an  interest  which 
never  fails. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

On  the  portable  Character  of  the  Evidence  for  the 

Truth  of  Christianity. 

1.  The  epithet  of  portable ,  though  alike  applicable 
to  the  moral  the  experimental  and  the  doctrinal 
evidence  for  the  truth  of  Christianity,  we  should 

VOJ..  IV.  ii 


170  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 

not  have  ventured  to  adopt  in  this  place— had  it  not 
been  previously  sanctioned  by  our  admirable  friend 
Joseph  John  Gurney,*  whose  writings  have  con¬ 
tributed  so  much  to  the  defence  and  illustration 
of  our  common  faith. 

I 

2.  The  meaning  of  it  is,  that,  unlike  to  the 
historical  or  literary  evidence,  which,  as  requiring 
a  higher  amount  of  scholarship  and  education  than 
is  found  to  obtain  throughout  the  general  mass  of 
society,  can  only  be  addressed  to  a  limited  class  of 
readers — the  portable  evidence,  on  the  contrary, 
may  be  borne  to  every  door,  and  find  an  opening 
for  itself  to  the  heart  and  the  conscience  even  of 
the  most  unlettered  of  our  species.  Yet  it  is  not 
by  a  reflex  or  philosophical  exposition  of  this  evi¬ 
dence — it  is  not  by  such  an  exposition  of  it  as  we 
have  attempted  to  give  in  the  two  previous  chap¬ 
ters,  that  it  is  made  to  obtain  an  entrance  into  the 
minds  of  the  common  people.  It  works  a  way  for 
itself  there,  and  there  achieves  its  main  triumphs 
through  the  direct  preaching  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  It  is  while  the  minister  unfolds  the  con¬ 
tents  of  the  Christian  message,  though  without 
one  word  from  him  on  the  credentials  of  the 
message,  that  the  best  and  weightiest  of  these 
credentials  do  of  themselves  find  access  to  the  popu¬ 
lar  understanding.  It  is  thus  that  the  subject 
matter  of  Christianity,  instinct  in  itself  with  evi¬ 
dence,  may,  when  simply  told  and  explained,  be 
left  to  vindicate  its  own  authority ;  and  does  in  fact 
carry  its  own  proper  weight,  amounting  to  absolute 

*  See  his  interesting  little  work  on  the  “  Portable  Eyidence  of 
Christianity.” 


THE  EVIDENCE  TOR  CHRISTIANITY.  17  i 

and  entire  ascendancy,  over  the  convictions  of 
the  most  ignorant  and  unlearned  hearers.  And 
this  mental  consent  of  theirs  is  not  fancy  but  faith 
—the  real  substance  of  belief  and  not  the  semblance 
of  it  only  the  result  of  a  process  as  legitimate  and 
as  logical,  as  any  of  those  by  which  philosophy  has 
been  led  to  her  soundest  conclusions— a  belief  rest¬ 
ing  upon  evidence  presented  in  the  message,  though 
not  pointed  to  or  once  named  to  them  by  the  bearer 
of  the  message — an  evidence  recognized  by  the 
people  though  perhaps  never  reasoned  on  by  the 
minister, 

3.  And  this  self-evidence  which  lies  in  the 
matter  of  revelation,  and  makes  it  so  applicable  to 
the  unlearned  within,  makes  it  equally  applicable 
to  the  rudest  and  most  unlettered  tribes  without 
the  limits  of  Christendom.  In  the  power  and 
effect  of  the  internal  evidence  we  behold  the  ratio¬ 
nale  of  a  missionary  enterprise — the  agents  of 
which,  with  but  the  Bible  in  their  hands  and  the 
spirit  of  prayer  in  their  hearts,  are  in  a  state  of 
full  equipment  for  operating  on  the  moral  nature 
of  man  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  They  are 
in  possession  of  a  key  to  all  consciences  ;  and,  with¬ 
out  the  power  either  of  working  present  miracles 
or  of  demonstrating  to  the  apprehension  of  savages 
the  certainty  of  past  miracles,  they,  nevertheless, 
are  in  possession  of  vouchers  to  authenticate  their 
mission,  and  by  which  to  make  full  proof  of  their 
apostleship. 

4.  Before  expatiating  further  either  on  the  one 
or  the  other  application,  the  evidence  itself  may 
again  be  shortly  stated,  even  that  evidence  by 


172  OH  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 

which  the  messengers  of  the  Gospel  might  pioneer 
an  access  for  Christianity  to  the  consciences  of 
the  men  of  the  whole  earth — whether  to  the  most 
sunken  in  the  depths  of  ignorance  and  poverty  at 
home — or  to  the  farthest  removed  in  the  wilds  of 
distant  and  yet  unexplored  barbarism. 

5.  Each  entire  man  has  a  conscience  within  his 
breast  which  tells  him  of  the  difference  between 
right  and  wrong,  and  tells  him  somewhat  of  the 
God  who  planted  it  there ;  and  each  has  a  con¬ 
sciousness  which  tells  him  of  his  own  delinquencies 
against  this  law  of  moral  nature,  and  that,  in  the 
eye  of  him  who  ordained  that  law,  he  himself  is  an 
offender.  Let  the  word  which  tells  him  the  same 
things  lay  hold  of  his  attention,  and  the  recognized 
harmony  between  the  lessons  of  the  one  and  of  the 
other — the  felt  echo  in  his  own  heart  to  the  inti¬ 
mations  of  a  message  thus  brought  nigh  unto  him 
— the  response  given  from  within  to  the  voice  heard 
from  without — will  fix  and  perpetuate  his  attention 
the  more;  and  all  the  discoveries  made  by  this 
process  of  a  joint  or  double  manifestation,  will 
have,  at  least,  the  authority  of  two  witnesses  to 

confirm  them.  Let  us  conceive  that  the  ministra- 
• 

tions  of  the  spirit  are  superadded  to  the  ministra¬ 
tions  of  the  word,  and  that  he  who  is  the  subject 
of  these,  obtains,  in  consequence,  a  clearer  and 
fuller  view  both  of  himself  and  of  the  Bible. 
Under  such  a  discipline  as  this,  all  his  convictions, 
and  with  his  convictions,  his  fears  must  grow  apace ; 
the  feeble  and  incipient  notices  which  first  drew 
his  regards,  might  now  be  to  him  the  loud  denun¬ 
ciations  of  terror ;  all  that  is  said  of  the  evil  of  sin 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  173 

and  of  the  vengeance  which  awaits  the  sinner 
under  a  holy  and  unchangeable  lawgiver,  might 
have  tenfold  greater  weight  and  significancy  than 
before ;  and  he  be  haunted  in  consequence,  by  the 
thought  of  an  angry  God  and  an  undone  eternity. 
In  the  midst  of  these  disquietudes  which  so  agitate 
and  engross  his  soul,  let  us  further  imagine  that 
the  same  Bible  which  told  him  of  sin,  now  tells  him 
of  salvation;  and  that  the  same  spirit  from  on  high 
which  irradiated  the  one  revelation  and  made  it 
stand  forth  as  if  in  illuminated  characters  of  greater 
dread  and  majesty  than  before,  casts  a  bright  but 
pleasing  irradiation  over  the  other  also.  In  answer 
to. the  Payers  of  this  tost  and  tempest-driven  sup¬ 
plicant,  seeking  for  rest  but  hitherto  finding  none, 
let  the  revelation  of  grace  be  at  length  made  as 
palpable  as  before  was  the  revelation  of  terror. 
Let  him  now  be  helped  to  take  a  view  of  redemp¬ 
tion,  in  its  characters  and  in  its  footsteps— of  that 
great  movement  made  from  heaven  to  earth,  and 
the  object  of  which  was  to  reconcile  the  outcast 
world  and  recall  its  wandering  generations  to  the 
family  of  God.  Let  the  law  have  acted  its  part 
as  a  schoolmaster  in  bringing  him  to  Christ ;  and, 
in  the  history  of  Him  who  came,  charged  with  the 
overtures  of  peace,  and  went  about  doing  good 
continually,  let  him  learn  the  possibility  at  least 
tnal  theie  is  an  outlet  of  escape  from  condemna¬ 
tion— that  there  is  still  a  refuge  from  despair. 
Let  this  dawning  hope  ripen  more  and  more  to¬ 
wards  a  full  assurance,  as  he  becomes  more  intelli¬ 
gent  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Saviour,  and  listens  to 
His  repeated  declarations  of  good  will  to  the  chil* 


74  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OP 

dren  of  men.  Above  all  let  him  be  made  to  know 
the  purposes  of  His  death ;  and  his  mind  be  opened 
to  behold  the  great  mystery  of  the  atonement,  the 
union  of  heaven’s  justice  with  heaven’s  clemency. 
It  is  then  that  the  scales  fall  from  his  eyes ;  and 
in  the  propitiated  pardon  of  the  Gospel,  blending 
the  honours  of  a  vindicated  sacredness  with  the 
freest  and  fullest  proclamations  of  mercy,  he  at 
length  finds  that  alone  remedy  by  which  the  mis¬ 
givings  of  his  guilty  nature  can  be  met  and  satis¬ 
fied.  By  one  and  the  same  manifestation,  even 
the  spectacle  of  the  cross,  his  confidence,  though  a 
transgressor  of  the  law,  is  restored ;  while  his  reve¬ 
rence  for  the  law’s  authority  is  exalted-^-and,  in 
the  transition  which  he  now  makes  to  peace  and 
holiness,  he  learns  what  it  is  to  mix  trembling  with 
his  mirth,  to  combine  with  the  security  of  the 
Christian  faith  the  diligence  of  the  Christian  prac¬ 
tice.  But  his  experience  does  not  stop  at  this 
great  event  of  his  history,  which  might  well  be 
termed  the  turning  point  of  his  salvation.  It 
rather  only  begins  here ;  and,  along  the  career  of 
the  new  creature  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  with 
the  powrer  of  sin  broken,  and  a  constantly  increas¬ 
ing  delight  in  that  law  which  was  formerly  his 
terror,  the  descriptions  of  the  book  so  tally  with 
the  findings  of  his  own  heart  and  his  own  history, 
as  to  multiply  the  evidence  upon  him  that  Christi¬ 
anity  is  divine.  Under  the  teaching  of  the  Bible 
wrhich  he  daily  reads,  and  of  the  Spirit  which  he 
daily  prays  for,  these  signatures  of  heaven  in  the 
whole  religion  of  the  New  Testament  become 
every  day  more  legible  and  more  convincing — till 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  175 

a  belief  never  to  be  shaken  be  fully  established 
within  him,  that  verily  God  is  in  it  of  a  truth. 

6.  Now  throughout  the  whole  of  this  schooling, 
we  never  once  come  into  converse  with  the  histo¬ 
rical  or  the  literary  evidence  for  the  truth  of  the 
Gospel.  The  aids  of  a  critical  and  controversial 
authorship,  with  its  scientific  apparatus  of  poly- 
glotts  and  grammars  and  lexicons,  are  never  called 
for.  These  mysteries  of  a  higher  scholarship  are 
beyond  the  reach  of  our  common  people — who  yet, 
with  no  other  apparatus  than  that  of  a  Bible  and 
of  a  conscience,  are  capable  of  being  introduced 
to  the  mysteries  of  a  still  surer  and  more  satisfying 
revelation.  There  is  a  process  by  which  the 
things  that  are  hidden  from  the  wise  and  the  pru¬ 
dent,  might  be  abundantly  made  known  to  the 
veriest  babes  in  the  learning  of  this  world.  Let 
them  have  but  Bibles  in  their  hands,  and  con¬ 
sciences  in  their  bosoms — then,  with  that  power 
from  on  high  which  operates  on  these  and  is  given 
to  our  prayers,  we  are  in  possession  of  the  adequate 
means  for  the  saving  illumination  even  of  the 
humblest  and  homeliest  of  men.  In  other  words — 
without  either  the  gift  of  miracles  or  of  profound 
erudition  or  philosophy,  we  might  be  in  a  state  of 
full  equipment  for  the  Christianization  of  the  world. 

7.  There  is  a  twofold  application  that  might  be 
made  of  this  subject.  First,  the  encouragement 
derived  from  it  to  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  education 
of  our  own  countrymen — secondly,  the  like  en¬ 
couragement  to  efforts  for  the  civilization  of  the 
nations  beyond  the  limits  of  Christendom.  The 
philosophy  of  missions  in  their  two  great  branches, 


176  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OP 

the  Home  and  the  Foreign,  receives  its  best  vindi 
cation  on  the  ground  of  the  self-evidencing  power 
of  the  Bible — as  portable,  therefore,  as  the  truths 
of  the  Bible  are  portable ;  and  we  hope  it  will  not 
be  deemed  an  unreasonable  digression  if,  at  this 
stage  of  our  argument,  we  now  advert  to  the  like¬ 
lihoods  of  both. 

8.  I.  In  the  Gospel  then  there  is  a  sure  testi- 
mony,  (i  making  wise  the  simple” — the  line  whereof 
goeth  out  “  through  all  the  earth,”  and  its  “  words 
to  the  end  of  the  world.”*  This  diffusive  pro¬ 
perty  signifies  more  than  the  property  of  stretching 
to  a  far  distance.  To  overspread  implies  a  filling 
up,  as  well  as  an  expansion.  That  Christianity 
go  completely  through  all  the  earth,  it  must  not 
only  be  carried  forth  to  its  remotest  extremities— 
there  must  be  no  intermediate  vacancies  left,  else 
the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  does  not  cover  the 
earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea.  For  a  thorough 
fulfilment  of  missionary  work,  we  must  not  only 
expound,  we  must  also  pervade.  The  object  is  not 
merely  to  enlarge  the  borders  of  Christendom ;  it 
is  to  reclaim  the  interior  wastes  of  Christendom 
itself — and,  for  this  purpose,  *we  must  visit  the 
desolate  places  that  are  within  as  well  as  those 
that  are  without  the  territory.  When  we  hear  of 
a  missionary  enterprise,  our  thoughts  would  carry 
us  afar  to  the  remotest  isles  of  Paganism,  or  to 
those  vast  and  yet  unexplored  continents,  which 
have  not  been  penetrated  by  the  light  of  revelation. 
It  is  not  recollected,  that,  beside  these  unvisited 


*  P»a  in  xix,  41, 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  177 

regions  at  a  distance,  and  still  under  the  shadow 

of  death,  we  have  unassailed  fastnesses  at  home _ 

whole  masses  of  irreligion  and  deepest  spiritual 
apathy,  whether  in  the  putrid  lanes  of  our  cities 
or  in  the  remote  hamlets  and  villages  of  our  country 
parishes — thousands  of  imperishable  spirits  of  men 
living  at  our  own  doors,  who  personally  are  within 
the  sight  of  churches  and  the  hearing  of  church- 
bells,  yet  morally  are  at  as.  great  a  distance,  not 
from  the  spirit  and  power  only  but  from  the  know¬ 
ledge  of  the  Gospel,  as  if  they  had  been  born  and 
lived  all  their  days  in  the  wilds  of  Tartary.  In 
the  splendour  of  the  distant  enterprise,  we  are 
apt  to  overlook  these ;  and,  with  imaginations 
fired  by  the  project  of  an  attack  on  the  primeval 
seats  of  idolatry  in  other  countries  and  other  climes, 
the  claims  of  our  own  kindred  and  our  own  coun¬ 
trymen  are  apt  to  be  forgotten. 

9.  Now,  when  we  speak  of  the  portable  evidence 
of  Christianity,  we  mean  that  evidence  by  which  it 
can  reach  the  consciences  and  the  conduct  even  of 
the  unlettered  multitude.  We  distinguish  it  from 
that  other  evidence,  the  understanding  of  which  ' 
requires  a  science  and  a  scholarship  that  are  con¬ 
fined  to  the  few.  It  is  that  in  virtue  of  which  we 
are  placed  in  circumstances  for  addressing  with 
effect  the  hitherto  most  untutored  of  our  own  po¬ 
pulation,  though  sunk  in  deepest  ignorance _ as 

well  as  those  rudest  of  nature’s  children,  those 
wanderers  of  the  desert,  where  the  sound  of  the 
Gospel  was  never  heard.  All  men  have  in  them 
the  common  faculty  of  a  conscience  that  suggests 
the  same  notions  of  right  and  wrong— the  same 

H  2 


178  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 


sense  of  their  moral  want  and  their  moral  worth¬ 
lessness  to  all.  And  Christianity  has  in  it  the 
property  of  an  adaptation  to  the  conscience  by 
which  it  might  commend  itself  to  all,  and  so  find 
proselytes  for  itself  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe. 
It  is  this  self-evidencing  power  of  the  Bible  which 
makes  its  doctrines  portable  to  every  understand¬ 
ing,  and  its  lessons  portable  to  every  heart.  And 
it  not  only  explains  the  full  and  final  entrance  of 
Christianity  into  the  mind,  when,  in  the  moment 
of  conversion  it  is  at  last  admitted  as  the  settled 
belief  of  the  inquirer.  It  also  explains  the  wel¬ 
come  of  its  first  approaches  ;  for  the  same  charac¬ 
teristics  of  this  religion  which  seen  fully  at  the  last 
secure  for  it  the  full  conviction  of  the  mind,  though 
seen  but  dimly  at  the  first,  give  it  a  certain  credit¬ 
able  aspect  even  at  the  outset — so  that,  though  not 
received  all  at  once,  it  may  still  be  entertained 
even  at  the  very  first ;  and  we  have  no  doubt  that 
this  operates  most  powerfully,  as  an  ingredient  in 
that  facility  of  access,  which  the  bearers  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  experience,  when,  passing  from  house  to 
house,  they  make  offer  of  their  Christian  services, 
and  announce  the  errand  on  which  they  have  come, 
of  doing  all  which  they  can  and  are  permitted  to 
do,  for  the  moral  and  Christian  good  of*  the  families. 

10.  And  accordingly  what  is  the  experience  of 
those  who  make  this  attempt — who  go  forth  among 
the  households  of  the  poorer  classes,  not  with  the 
offer  or  silver  and  gold  for  of  such  they  may  have 
none,  but  with  the  offer  of  their  devotions  through 
the  week  and  of  their  Christian  advice  upon  the  Sab¬ 
bath — whose  only  errand  is  as  the  messengers  of 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  179 

Christianity — the  bearers  of  its  comfort  to  their 
sick  and  dying,  of  its  lessons  whether  of  warning  or 
encouragement  to  themselves  and  to  their  children? 
The  pleasing  discovery  of  which  every  day  is  now 
multiplying  the  instances  is,  that,  wfith  the  exception 
perhaps  of  not  one  in  a  hundred,  the  religious  phil¬ 
anthropist  finds  a  cordial  admittance  at  every  door 
— that,  generally  and  almost  universally,  there  is  a 
welcome  and  a  good  will  attendant  upon  his  foot¬ 
steps,  a  grateful  response  to  the  overtures  where¬ 
with  he  is  charged ;  and,  though  he  comes  in  what 
might  be  held  a  somewhat  invidious  capacity,  as  a 
reformer  of  their  habits  and  a  reformer  of  their 
lives,  that  nevertheless  he  makes  good  his  entry 
not  into  their  habitations  only  but  into  their  hearts  ; 
and  that,  if  he  but  concentrate  his  attentions  on  a 
territory  small  enough  for  becoming  the  acquaint¬ 
ance  of  all  the  families,  he  will  earn,  as  the  fruit  of 
his  moral  and  benevolent  assiduities,  the  confidence 
and  the  affection  of  all.  We  do  not  say  that  he 
will  gain  over  the  convictions  of  all ;  but,  by  dint 
of  his  fidelity  and  honest  friendship  in  the  midst  of 
them,  ne  will  very  nearly  gain  over  the  kindness  of 
all.  He  may  not  secure  a  full  acceptance  for 
Christianity.  But  to  a  great  extent  he  will  secure 
at  least  a  hearing  for  it.  Such  at  least  is  the 
common  finding  of  those,  who  have  attempted  in 
a  sustained  way,  to  make  a  lodgment  for  the 
ministrations  of  the  Gospel  in  the  churchless  vil¬ 
lages  and  before  unentered  city  recesses  of  our 
own  land — teeming  with  unknown  and  hitherto 
neglected  myriads  of  immortal  creatures,  among 
whom  Christianity  has  been  suffered  to  wane  into 


180  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  Ojf 

extinction ;  but  who,  nevertheless,  have  still  the 
human  feelings  and  the  human  consciences  by 
which  to  find  a  way  to  them.  There  is  a  natural 
cordiality  almost  with  all,  in  virtue  of  which  the 
bearers  of  the  truth  are  welcomed,  when,  in  the 
prosecution  of  this  their  moral  and  benevolent 
enterprise,  they  make  their  descent  upon  the 
families.*  But  tills  alone  would  not  suffice,  but 
for  that  credibility  in  the  truth  itself,  which  intro¬ 
duces  it  first  to  the  attention,  and  then  wins  for 
it  the  full  and  final  acceptance  of  the  mind ;  and, 
to  meet  this,  there  is  a  natural  conscience  in  all, 
which,  made  awake  and  intelligent  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  can  take  knowledge  of  the  word  that  is 
spoken,  and  do  homage  to  the  divinity  which  is 
therein  manifested.  Both  these,  the  natural  cor¬ 
diality  and  the  natural  conscience,  may  be  regarded 
as  parts  of  human  nature  by  which  provision  is 
made  for  the  access  of  Christianity  to  the  people ; 
<t>r,  by  wrhich,  Christianity  is  rendered  so  portable 
— both  throughout  the  habitations,  and  into  the 
hearts  of  men.  The  conjunction  of  these  two 
forms  a  mighty  encouragement  to  all  missionary 
work.  It  is  with  the  second  of  these  that  the 
consideration  of  the  internal  evidence  has  properly 
to  do.  But  the  first,  as  not  having  been  much 

We  speak  of  Scotland.  Wo  have  not  had  much  experience 
of  the  people  or  towns  in  Kngland  ;  but  there  is  certainly  a  more 
general  impression  in  that  part  of  the  island,  that,  to  secure  a 
general  welcome  among  the  families  of  the  working  classes,  the 
offered  services  of  Christianity  must  be  accompanied  with  the 
gifts  of  ordinary  kindness.  We  apprehend  that  there  is  a  fatal 
incongruity  between  these  two  ministrations ;  and  that  every 
scheme  for  the  Christian  education  of  the  people,  should  stand 
dissevered  from  all  ostensible  measures  for  the  relief  of  poverty. 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  181 

adverted  to,  is  what  at  present  we  shall  most 
dwell  upon — as  furnishing  the  most  important  faci¬ 
lity  to  the  great  enterprise,  if  not  of  carrying 
Christianity  abroad  among  the  distant  wilds  of 
Paganism,  at  least  of  obtaining  entry  for  it  among 
the  families  of  our  own  population.  It  is  a  glo¬ 
rious  achievement  to  plant  the  Gospel  in  other 
lands.  But,  if  reckoned  less  glorious,  it  is  surely 
not  less  useful  to  fill  up  the  blanks  and  lighten  the 
dark  places  of  our  home  territory. 

11.  There  is  a  barrier  at  the  outset  of  the 
foreign  which  does  not  obtain  in  the  home  enter¬ 
prise.  In  the  former  we  go  forth  as  bearers  of  a 
hostile  religion.  We  come  into  conflict  with  the 
prejudices  of  an  hereditary  faith.  We  encounter 
the  hazard  of  impassioned  resistance,  often  of  per¬ 
sonal  violence.  In  the  latter  we  experience  the 
reverse  of  all  this.  We  g(^  forth  among  the  people, 
not  to  loot  out  a  hostile,  but  to  revive  a  decayed 
religion — transmitted  to  them  from  their  fathers ; 
and  which,  though  extinct  in  power,  is  not  unknown 
to  them  by  name,  and  is  in  harmony  with  all  their 
remaining  associations  of  sacredness,  however 
feeble  or  almost  forgotten  these  might  be.  It  is 
thus,  that,  in  the  very  first  movements  from  house 
to  house  of  the  home  missionary,  there  is  often  a 
certain  reverential  feeling  awakened;  and,  at  all 
events,  as  kindness  is  the  moving  principle  of  the 
operation,  there  is  throughout  a  very  general  sense 
of  that  kindness,  that  is  both  warmly  felt  and 
gratefully  acknowledged,  and  which  secures,  not  a 
decent  only,  but  a  welcome  reception  to  our  ad¬ 
venturer  on  this  new  walk  of  benevolence.  At 


182 


ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 


the  \ery  least,  encouragement  enough  is  given  and 
a  way  is  sufficiently  opened,  for  announcing  his 
errand  to  them  as  their  Christian  friend  or  Christian 
adviser,  who  will  preach  in  their  immediate  neigh¬ 
bourhood  on  the  Sabbath,  and  is  willing  to  render 
thiough  the  week  all  those  attentions  and  services 
of  which  they  may  choose  to  avail  themselves. 
There  is  often  a  promise  to  attend  on  the  public, 
and  still  oftener  an  invitation  to  repeat  the  per¬ 
sonal  visit— and  so  the  profession  of  a  willingness 
to  accept  of  the  private  or  the  household  minis¬ 
trations.  If  this  process  be  steadily  persevered  in, 
if  to  these  stated  movements  oft  repeated  among 
the  people,  there  be  added  a  frequent  occasional 
movement,  whenever  the  call  of  sickness  or  of 
death  or  any  sort  of  family  distress  shall  have 
opened  the  hearts  and  the  houses  of  the  afflicted  to 
the  entry  of  Christian  kindness— the  result  of  these 
assiduities  through  the  week,  is  the  gradual  build¬ 
ing  up  of  a  congregation  on  the  Sabbath.  The 
people  even  of  the  most  outlandish  district,  in 
places  the  most  destitute  and  depraved,  may  thus 
be  gathered  into  a  parochial  family,  and  trained  to 
parochial  habits.  Children  of  all  others  may  be 
made  to  participate  most  largely  in  this  improve¬ 
ment.  Under  the  moral  ascendancy  of  the  pastor, 
who  has  assumed  their  territory  for  his  vineyard 
and  earned  as  the  fruit  of  his  daily  and  weekly 
labours  the  confidence  and  attachment  of  the  peo¬ 
ple,  education  will  grow  apace  among  them.  Even 
by  the  time  when  only  perhaps  a  few  are  con¬ 
verted,  many  will  be  at  least  humanized — for,  such 
is  the  savour  of  Christianity,  that,  over  and  above 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  183 

its  own  proper  influence  on  the  individuals  whom 
it  sanctifies,  it  has  a  secondary  and  wide  spread 
influence  over  the  community,  whose  standard  of 
morals  it  exalts,  and  whose  general  habits  it  re¬ 
fines  and  civilizes.  Altogether,  with  the  power  of 
that  kindness  which  the  messengers  of  Christianity 
might  bring  to  bear  upon  human  feelings,  and  the 
power  of  Christianity  itself  over  human  consciences, 
there  never  was  so  effective  an  instrument  as  the 
one  which  we  now  describe,  for  reclaiming  men 
from  what  might  appear  even  the  most  hopeless 
and  impracticable  degeneracy.  For  the  latter 
power,  Christianity  stands  indebted  to  its  own 
evidence,  to  the  aspect  of  likelihood  which  it  wears 
even  at  the  first,  and  its  perpetually  growing  claims 
on  the  attention  and  moral  earnestness  of  every 
inquirer — till  at  length  the  conclusive  revelation 
is  made  to  him  of  such  credentials,  as  satisfy  his 
mind  that  the  religion  is  true.  For  the  former 
power  it  is  indebted  to  that  peculiarity  in  the 
human  constitution,  by  which  it  is  that  the  mani¬ 
fested  good  will  of  one  man  tells  so  immediately 
and  with  such  subduing  effect  on  the  heart  of 
another  man.  As  a  pioneer  or  a  precursor  to  the 
ministrations  of  the  Gospel,  this  principle  is  invalu¬ 
able — though,  till  of  late,  but  scarcely  adverted 
to ;  and  far  too  little  use  has  been  made  of  it. 
It  of  itself  forms  no  part  of  the  evidence  for  the 
truth  of  the  Christian  religion  ;  but  it  is  the  avenue 
by  which  the  portable  evidence  of  Christianity 
finds  its  way  to  the  population — not  that  which 
carries  the  belief,  but  that  which  gains  the  atteu- 


184  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 

tion  that  precedes  the  belief — not  the  proof,  but 
the  means  for  the  conveyance  of  it. 

12.  Hitherto  we  have  not  enough  availed  our¬ 
selves  of  those  strong  affinities  which  bind  one  man 
to  another,  and  extend  the  brotherhood  of  our 
nature,  far  beyond  the  limits  of  kindred  or  previous 
acquaintanceship.  It  may  be  experienced  on  the 
moment  of  our  entrance  within  the  threshold  of  a 
family  which  we  never  before  saw.  The  character 
of  the  reception  is  almost  invariable — that  of 
genuine  and  entire  cordiality.  The  errand  on 
which  we  go,  announces  itself  to  be  one  of  kind¬ 
ness  ;  and,  in  almost  every  instance,  it  calls  forth 
the  sense  and  the  spirit  of  kindness  back  again. 
By  the  very  act  of  coming  under  the  roof  of  one 
ot  tne  common  people,  we  in  a  manner  throw 
ourselves  upon  his  kindness ;  and  scarcely  ever,  in 
one  instance,  does  this  confidence  deceive  us 
Insomuch  that  we  have  often  felt,  as  if,  to  enter 
the  house  of  a  poor  man  or  a  labourer,  was  the 
readiest  method  of  finding  our  way  into  his  heart. 
Certain  it  is  that  nothing  can  be  more  companion¬ 
able,  and  if  not  courtly  at  least  courteous  which  is 
far  better — nothing  can  be  more  polite  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  term,  for  it  is  nature’s  politeness  under 
the  spontaneous  impulse  of  nature’s  honesty,  than 
that  which  is  habitually  experienced  in  these  rounds 
of  pastoral  or  missionary  visitation.  If  we  want 
to  taste  the  amenities  of  human  intercourse,  let  us 
go,  not  in  the  capacity  of  an  almoner  but  in  the 
higher  capacity  of  a  Christian  philanthropist,  either 
to  the  country  hamlet  or  to  the  city  lane — let  us 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  18  !> 

carry  our  proffers  of  beneficence,  either  to  the 
peasant  in  the  one  situation  or  to  the  man  of 
handicraft  and  hard  labour  in  the  other — let  it  be 
the  prospect  of  a  Christian  benefit  to  themselves, 
or  of  an  educational  benefit  to  their  children — we 
do  not  say  that  the  consent  will  be  gotten  all  at 
once  to  the  practical  arrangement,  whatever  it 
may  be ;  but,  from  the  very  first,  both  the  visit 
and  the  object  of  it  will  be  well  taken ;  and,  such 
is  the  charm  of  these  household  attentions,  that  a 
great  and  effectual  door  is  opened  by  them,  to  all 
those  results,  which  the  manifested  friendship  and 
the  moral  suasion  of  one  man,  have  power  to 
effectuate  in  the  purposes  and  the  doings  of  ano¬ 
ther. 

13.  We  can  well  imagine  here  a  certain  suspi¬ 
cion  or  incredulity,  as  if  our  picture  was  over- 
coloured — or  as  if  there  was  more  of  the  imagina¬ 
tive  than  of  the  experimental  in  our  representation. 
But  our  shrewd  and  sceptical  antagonists  do  truly 
confound  the  things  which  differ,  when  they  liken 
these  every-day  findings  with  which  we  now  deal 
to  the  visions  of  Arcadia.  Those  cordialities  of 
human  intercourse,  and  the  results  which  come 
out  of  them,  have  nought  in  them  whatever  of 
the  romance  or  the  extravagance  of  poetry.  What 
Howard  on  the  walk  of  general  benevolence  real¬ 
ized  in  prisons,  any  other,  if  he  is  but  a  man  of 
heart  and  genuine  piety,  will  realize  in  parishes. 
Those  triumphs  of  kindness  which  the  one  achieved 
in  the  malefactor’s  cell,  the  other  will  writh  still 
greater  facility  achieve  in  the  nlousthman’s  cabin 
and  the  workman’s  lowliest  tenement.  If  the 


ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OP 


moral  desperadoes  of  a  jail  can  be  made  to  own 
the  omnipotence  of  charity,  it  surely  will  not  be 
more  difficult  to  earn  the  same  ascendancy  over 
.the  commonplace  men  and  women  of  our  general 
population.  It  is  true,  that,  even  among  these, 
individuals  are  to  be  found,  who,  though  not  yet 
convicted  of  crime,  have  all  the  hardihood  and  all 
that  aspect  of  stout  and  resolute  defiance  which 
belong  to  criminals— whose  hearts  are  hearts  of 
steel — whose  houses  are  houses  of  riot,  intemper¬ 
ance,  and  shame.  Yet  even  they,  it  is  often 
found,  might  be  melted  into  a  sort  of  grateful 
reverence,  and  that,  on  the  first  apostolic  entry 
ever  made  within  their  doors ;  and,  what  might 
be  deemed  singular  yet  is  really  not  so,  though 
sheathed  in  hopeless  obduracy  themselves  so  that 
their  own  reformation  is  by  all  despaired  of,  yet 
there  is  enough  of  remaining  conscience  and  human 
affection  within  them,  to  make  them  seize  on  the 
proposal  ot  meetings  and  sermons  and  Sabbath 
schools  for  their  children.  But  more,  though  at 
the  outset  house  and  heart  should  both  be  barri- 
cadoed  against  the  approaches  of  Christian  bene¬ 
volence,  neither  yet  must  all  prospect  of  good, 
even  in  these  cases  of  rare  and  monstrous  excep¬ 
tion  to  the  general  law  of  our  nature,  be  given  up 
as  conclusively  at  an  end.  The  determined  agent 
ot  this  benevolence  is  on  the  highest  of  all  vantage- 
giound.  He  has  only  to  keep  his  post  and  to 
watch  his  opportunity.  Events  will  work  for 
him.  Providence  will  at  length  open  a  door  for 

him.  Calamity  or  sickness  or  death  will  in  the 
course  of  months  or  years  break  in  upon  the  house- 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  187 

hold  of  this  family  of  aliens — when  our  resolved 
visitant  of  mercy  will  be  no  longer  scovded  upon, 
and  the  sound  of  his  footsteps  will  be  welcome  to 
their  ears.  His  presence  will  solemnize  them. 
His  prayers  will  soften  them.  His  sympathies 
and  well-timed  services  will  awaken  the  humanity, 
that  has  long  been  dormant  but  not  extinguished 
within  them.  Even  their  gratitude,  all  ungainly 
as  they  are,  will  be  found  not  beyond  the  power 
and  the  perseverance  of  charity  like  his;  and,  if 
theirs,  he  may  he  sure  of  a  general  if  not  a  uni¬ 
versal  conquest  over  the  affections  of  his  whole 
territory.  We  do  not  say  that  he  will  convert  all ; 
but,  nearly,  he  will  humanize  all.  We  do  not  say 
that,  even  at  the  end  of  a  period  of  years,  he  will 
have  gotten  all  or  even  many  to  believe.  But  he 
will  have  gotten  very  many  to  attend.  He  may 
not  have  lodged  in  the  heart  of  each  the  truth 
which  is  unto  salvation ;  but  he  will,  at  least,  have 
congregated  a  goodly  number  within  reach  of  the 
hearing  of  it.  And,  even  at  this  early  stage  of  his 
proceedings,  though  he  may  have  only  established 
the  footsteps  of  a  few'  in  the  way  of  life— he  may 
have  raised  the  standard  of  civility  .and  morals 
throughout  the  general  multitude.  Though  pre¬ 
paring  the  way  for  it,  he  may  yet  be  far  short  of 
having  consummated  the  object  of  the  Christian. 
Yet  already,  in  the  service  of  having  formed  a 
humanized  and  orderly  population,  he  may  have 
fulfilled  the  great  object  of  the  statesman  and  the 
patriot. 

14.  So  important  is  this  process,  that  one  can¬ 
not  be  at  too  great  pains  in  explaining  the  essen- 


188  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 


tial  steps  of  it.  And  the  most  essential,  for 
recalling  a  population  who  have  degenerated,  is  a 
system  of  week-day  attentions  within  the  limits  of 
a  district,  small  enough  to  ensure  their  sufficient 
frequency,  and  to  make  an  acquaintance  possible 
with  one  and  all  of  the  families.  A  church,  not 
so  related  to  a  given  territory,  but  meets  the  de¬ 
mand  which  already  exists  for  the  lessons  of  the 
Gospel— drawing  within  its  precincts  the  attend¬ 
ance  of  those  who  have  lost  the  habits  and  obser¬ 
vations  of  a  Christian  hind,  and  amongst  whom  the 
sense  of  religion  is  in  a  great  measure  extinguished. 
It  is  not  by  any  spontaneous  movement  of  theirs, 
that  tne  wished  for  condition  will  be  accomplished. 
The  movement  must  begin  at  the  opposite  quarter, 
with  the  dispensers  of  Christianity  and  not  with 
its  recipients— not  on  the  part  of  men  seeking 
after  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  on  the  part 
of  men  who  go  forth  charged  with  its  overtures 
and  press  them  on  the  attention  and  acceptance 
of  others.  Had  the  world  been  left  to  itself,  it 
would  have  settled  or  sunk  still  farther  in  the 
midst  of  its  own  degeneracy,  and  made  no  aspira¬ 
tions  after  God;  and  so  a  movement  had  to  be 
made,  not  from  earth  to  heaven,  but  from  heaven 
to  earth — when  Christianity  made  its  first  ingress 
among  men.  Even  after  it  was  made  known  to  a 
few  in  Judea,  had  the  surrounding  nations  been 
left  to  themselves,  they  would  still  have  persisted 
for  ever,  in  the  darkness  and  the  depths  of  their 
idolatry ;  and  so  a  movement  was  called  for,  not 
from  the  nations  to  Jerusalem — but,  the  other 
way,  from  Jerusalem  to  the  nations;  and  the  order 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  189 

of  procedure  was,  to  go  and  preach  the  Gospel 
to  every  creature,  beginning  from  Jerusalem.  And 
still,  after  Christianity  has  thus  been  planted  in 
any  land,  it  must  not  lay  aside  its  missionary 
character — but  keep  by  it  still,  for  its  own  further 
and  fuller  diffusion.  For  let  the  people  of  any 
locality  be  left  to  themselves ;  and  they  will  lapse 
into  irreligion,  be  it  in  the  neglected  outfields  of  a 
country  or  in  the  neglected  streets  of  a  city  popu¬ 
lation  ;  and  still,  whether  to  re-establish  Chris¬ 
tianity  or  to  sustain  it,  the  movement  must  be 
made  not  from  them  but  to  them.  Nature  has  no 
appetency  for  that  bread  of  life  which  came  down 
from  heaven ;  and  which,  after  it  has  so  come, 
must  still  be  carried  forth  throughout  the  earth — 
and  that,  not  from  country  to  country  only,  but 
from  house  to  house,  so  as  to  attempt  a  lodgment 
within  every  heart,  and  to  knock  at  the  door 
of  every  habitation.  It  is  not  only  true  in  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  people  of  other  regions  and  of  dis¬ 
tant  climes — how  can  they  believe  except  men  be 
sent  to  them  ?  It  is  true  in  reference  to  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  other  streets,  and  at  the  distance  of  but  a 
few  steps  from  us — how  can  they  believe  except 
men  be  sent  to  them  ?  Each  parish  church  of  a 
religious  establishment  should  be  a  missionary 
station,  or  the  centre  of  a  missionary  process  that 
bears  on  all  the  houses  of  its  definite  and  assigned 
vicinity.  And  so  of  every  new  Church,  every  dis¬ 
tinct  and  additional  edifice  that  is  raised  for  the 
services  of  the  Gospel — it  will  lose  its  efficiency  as  a 
further  propagator  of  that  Gospel  in  the  land,  unless 
it  assumes  a  missionary  character  and  enters  on  a 


190  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 

missionary  operation.  Instead  of  waiting  to  be 
filled  by  a  movement  from  without,  it  should  itself 
originate  the  movement,  and  best,  if  possible,  when 
among  the  families  in  a  state  of  immediate  juxta¬ 
position  around  it — holding  out  all  facilities  for 
their  attendance,  and  exciting  to  the  uttermost  their 
demand  or  their  desire  for  Christianity,  by  present¬ 
ing  it  to  their  notice,  and  bringing  if  possible  its 
urgencies  and  its  awakening  calls  within  reach  of 
their  consciences.  It  is  thus  that  each  may  re¬ 
claim  its  own  district;  may  take  possession  and 
cultivate  its  own  little  territory;  and,  by  the  liga¬ 
ment  which  binds  together  the  week-day  attentions 
of  the  minister  on  the  one  hand  and  the  Sabbath 
attendance  of  the  people  on  the  other,  may  gather 
into  adjacent  parochial  communities  those  immense 
city  multitudes,  whose  amelioration  in  the  bulk 
looks  so  chimerically  hopeless,  but  in  detail  and  by 
fragments  or  sections,  is  really  so  practicable.  We 
know  of  no  other  instrumentality  by  which  this 
greatest  of  all  problems  can  be  resolved.  It  is 
only  by  a  separate  operation  on  each  district,  and 
then  the  apposition  of  one  district  to  another — it  is 
only  thus  we  apprehend,  that,  as  by  the  apposition 
of  farm  to  farm,  a  moral  fertility  can  be  made  to 
overspread  a  whole  territory,  or  a  whole  country 
be  reclaimed. 

15.  How  then  is  it  that  philanthropists  and 
patriots,  those  who  have  the  amelioration  of 
humanity  constantly  in  their  mouths,  nay  perhaps 
are  honestly  intent  on  it,  how  is  it  that  they  so 
little  avail  themselves  of  this  patent  and  practicable 
way  ?  There  is  hot  a  fonder  speculation  of  theirs. 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  191 

than  the  likeliest  method  by  which  to  regenerate 
society — to  regenerate  the  world.  We  can  imagine 
no  other  method  of  doing  it  than  to  do  it  piece¬ 
meal  ;  or  to  do  it  in  parcels.  But  like  all  those 
who  say  much  and  do  nothing,  they  seem  to  be 
dreaming  of  some  expedient  or  other  by  which  to 
do  it  in  bulk — so  that,  all  at  once,  and  on  the  back 
of  their  yet  undisclosed  and  we  may  add,  yet  un¬ 
discovered  specific,  the  human  species  might  in¬ 
stantly  start  into  a  moralized  and  happy  family. 
They  are  waiting  till  some  new  ingenuity  be  de¬ 
vised  in  education,  or,  perhaps,  some  new  adjust¬ 
ment  in  politics — on  which,  as  if  by  the  lifting  up 
of  a  magical  wand,  the  earth  is  to  emerge  into  a 
state  of  life  and  of  enlargement,  and  the  millenium 
of  their  fancy  and  their  hopes  is  to  be  suddenly 
realized.  The  real  millenium  that  is  awaiting 
our  world,  if  to  be  introduced  by  miracle  or  by  a 
preternatural  visitation  from  without  which  it  very 
likely  will,  may  come  suddenly.  But  in  as  far  as 
.  dependent  on  human  effort,  or  even  on  grace  at¬ 
tendant  as  it  commonly  is  on  the  footsteps  of  a 
human  process,  it  must  come  gradually.  It  must 
be  with  the  moral  or  the  spiritual  as  with  the 
natural  agriculture.  To  speed  forward  4he  one 
we  must  laboriously  do  the  work  of  each  furrow 
and  of  each  field ;  and  thus  pass  onward  from  farm 
to  farm,  till  the  whole  earth  is  brought  into  its 
utmost  possible  cultivation.  And  so,  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  either  of  civilizing  or  of  christianizing  the 
world,  we  must  pass  onwards  from  one  family  and 
from  one  district  to  another.  Every  whole  is  made 
up  of  parts — nor  can  we  see  how  the  whole  is  to 


192  ON  the  portable  character  of 


be  overtaken,  but  by  each  labourer  or  each  dis¬ 
tinct  body  of  labourers  acquitting  themselves  of 
their  part,  till  at  length  the  deed  universal  is  made  ' 
out,  by  a  separate  fulfilment  and  then  a  summa¬ 
tion  of  the  deeds  particular.  The  way  to  reform 
a  neighbourhood  is  just  the  way  to  reform  a  nation, 
or  a  quarter  of  the  globe,  or  the  great  globe  itself 
and  all  who  inherit  therein.  This  great  achieve¬ 
ment  may  be  talked  of  in  the  lump ;  but  it  must 
be  executed  in  detail.  The  thing  must  be  gone 
about  inductively.  Our  men  of  sublime  and  spe¬ 
culative  genius,  who  have  no  patience  for  the 
drudgery  of  execution,  may  engross  the  ear  of  the 
public  for  a  time  with  their  generalized  and  mag¬ 
nificent  way  of  it ;  but  we  must  come  to  this  way 
at  the  last — after  that  the  schemes  and  the  systems 
of  our  modern  theorists  have  had  their  course; 
and  the  world  has  at  last  become  tired  of  the  con¬ 
ceits,  and  the  crudities,  and  the  thousand  vacillat- 
ing  projects,  and  the  as  many  abortions  of  our 
modern  legislators. 

16.  But,  recalling  ourselves  from  this  more  ex¬ 
tended  survey  to  the  means  and  the  likelihoods  of 
success  in  one  little  territory  not  half  a  mile  from 
home— depending  first  on  the  power  wherewith  the 
kindness  of  those  who  are  the  messengers  or  the 
bearers  of  Christian  truth  operate  upon  human 
feelings,  and  secondly  on  the  power  wherewith  the 
self-evidence  of  the  truth  itself  operates  upon 
human  consciences.  On  these  we  need  expatiate 
no  further ;  but  we  might  at  least  remark  how  pre¬ 
cious,  we  had  almost  said  how  proud  an  achieve¬ 
ment  it  is,  when,  by  dint  of  these,  the  people  of 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  193 

one  district,  nay  but  one  family  or  one  individual,  is 
transformed.  Apart  from  the  consideration  of 
immortality,  we  know  not  a  spectacle  of  greater 
worth,  and  we  may  add  of  greater  tastefulness  and 
beauty,  even  beauty  of  the  highest  order  as  belong¬ 
ing  to  the  moral  picturesque,  than  a  Christian 
peasant — whose  virtues  are  seen  in  all  the  greater 
lustre  that  they  are  arrayed  in  homely  garb,  or 
have  taken  root  in  a  tenement  of  poverty — like  the 
enhanced  loveliness  of  a  picture,  made  to  stand  out 
all  the  more  strikingly,  by  the  darkness  of  the 
ground  on  which  it  is  projected.  Perhaps  it  is 
this  contrast  between  light  and  shadow  which 
causes  it  to  be  so  fine  an  exhibition,  when  deep 
and  thorough  religious  principle  takes  up  its  abode 
in  the  heart  of  an  ordinary  workman.  But,  how¬ 
ever  this  may  be  certain  it  is,  that,  as  there  is  no  * 
one  event  that  serves  more  to  strengthen  the 
foundation,  so  there  is  none  which  serves  more  to 
grace  the  aspect  of  human  society — whether  we 
look  to  his  well-ordered  household  through  the 
week,  or  to  his  well-filled  family  pew  upon  the 
Sabbath.  If  there  be  one  sound  more  like  the 
music  of  paradise  than  another,  it  is  when  the  simple 
voice  of  psalms  arises  in  morning  or  evening  orisons 
from  the  lowly  cottage ;  or  one  spectacle  more 
rich  in  promise,  even  the  promise  of  fruit  for  im¬ 
mortality,  it  is  when  a  cottage  family  is  seen  in 
full  muster  at  the  house  of  God.  There  is  alto¬ 
gether  such  a  refreshing  moral  healthfulness  in  the 
Christianity  of  humble  life,  that  we  feel  for  it,  for 
the  Christianity  of  artificers  and  tradesmen,  a  pro¬ 
founder  homage  than  for  the  Christianity  either  of 
VOL.  iv.  I 


194  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 

accomplished  men  of  affluence,  or  of  profound  and 
learned  theologians.  The  greatest  of  all  national 
blessings,  certainly  the  greatest  national  reform, 
were  to  bring  within  reach  of  all,  the  means  of 
this  best  and  highest  education.  Herein  lie  the 
true  dignity  of  man,  the  proudest  rights  and  inves¬ 
titures  of  humanity.  This  is  the  genuine  majesty 
of  the  people — unknown  to  mock  patriotism,  that 
seeks  for  the  hosannahs  of  the  multitude  in  antoher 
way  and  by  other  promises,  which,  never  realized, 
only  serve  to  flatter  and  deceive  them. 

17.  They  who  incredulously  regard  the  people 
as  beyond  the  reach  of  this  achievement,  must  be 
ignorant  of  that  evidence  in  our  religion  which  is 
addressed  to  the  consciences  of  men — which  evi-  . 
dence  indeed  is  the  great,  if  not  the  only  instru- 
*  ment  of  Christianization,  both  in  and  out  of  Chris¬ 
tendom.  To  this  evidence  in  fact  we  owe  the 
great  bulk  of  our  home  Christianity.  We  on  this 
subject  make  our  confident  appeal  to  the  ministers 
of  the  Gospel,  and  bid  them  tell  what  that  is  which 
originates  and  which  fashions  the  Christianity  of 
their  own  people.  Was  it  a  series  of  lectures  on 
the  Deistical  controversy  ?  Was  it  the  argument 
of  Paley  or  of  Leslie  or  of  Butler  that  germinated 
their  faith  ?  Whether  was  it  the  doctrine  in  the 
book  or  the  history  of  the  book  that  was  the  instru¬ 
ment  of  their  conversion  ?  That  the  people  might 
see  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  had  they  to  plant  an 
historic  ladder,  ascending  from  the  present  age  to 
that  of  the  Apostles — or,  by  the  lights  of  criticism 
and  erudition,  had  they  to  guide  them  by  a  series 
of  indices  along  the  historic  pathway,  till  they  could 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY. 


195 


lay  their  hands  on  the  authenticity  of  the  books  of 
the  New  Testament;  or  the  certainty  of  the 
narrative  contained  in  it  ?  If  they  have  faith  at 
all  they  have  a  reason  for  their  faith.  They  do 
see  the  truth  of  the  Gospel — and  the  question  is 
whether  they  see  it  immediately,  in  the  light  of 
scripture  doctrine;  or  mediately,  in  the  light  of 
historical  demonstration.  When  we  enter  the 
house  of  one  of  our  cottage  patriarchs,  and  exa¬ 
mine  the  library  which  lies  in-  little  room  upon  his 
shelves — we  may  there  find  what  that  is  which  has 
begun,  and  what  that  is  which  aliments  his  Chris¬ 
tianity.  They  are  not  books  on  the  external  his¬ 
tory  of  the  Bible.  They  are  the  Bible  itself,  and 
books  on  the  internal  substance  and  contents  of 
the  Bible.  They  are  the  Flavels  and  the  Guthries 
and  the  Richard  Baxters  of  the  puritanic  age  who 
are  his  favourites— men  who  say  little  or  nothing 
on  the  argumentative  evidence  of  scripture;  but 
who  unfold  the  subject  matter,  and  who  urge  and 
urge  most  impressively  on  the  consciences  of  their 
readers  the  lessons  of  scripture.  In  a  word,  it 
is  by  a  perpetual  interchange  between  the  con¬ 
science  and  the  Bible  that  their  Christianity  is 
upholden, — by  a  light  struck  out  between  the  say¬ 
ings  of  the  one  and  the  findings  of  the  other.  It 
is  not  a  light  which  is  out  of  the  book,  but  a  light  • 
which  is  in  the  book,  that  commences  and  sustains 
the  Christianity  of  our  land — the  Christianity '  of 
our  ploughmen,  our  artizans,  our  men  of  handi¬ 
craft  and  of  hard  labour.  Yet  not  the  Christianity 
theirs  of  deceitful  imagination,  or  of  implicit  ad¬ 
herence  to  authority  ;  but  the  Christianity  of  beep, 


196  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 

we  will  add,  of  rational  belief,  firmly  and  pro¬ 
foundly  seated  in  the  principles  of  our  moral 
nature,  and  nobly  accredited  by  the  virtues  of  our 
well-conditioned  peasantry.  In  the  olden  time  of 
presbytery — that  time  of  scriptural  Christianity  in 
our  pulpits  and  of  psalmody  in  all  our  cottages, 
these  men  grew  and  multiplied  in  the  land — and, 
though  derided  in  the  heartless  literature,  and  dis¬ 
countenanced  or  disowned  in  the  heartless  politics 
of  other  days,  it  is  their  remnant  which  acts  as  a 
preserving  salt  among  our  people,  and  which  con¬ 
stitutes  the  real  strength  and  glory  of  the  Scottish 
nation. 

18.  Yet,  however  sufficient  for  the  practical, 
object  of  conversion  that  evidence  may  be  as  ad¬ 
dressed  to  the  consciences  of  the  people,  let  none 
on  that  account  detract  from  the  importance  of  the 
external,  or  rather  what  may  be  termed  the  liter¬ 
ary  and  argumentative  evidence  for  the  truth  of 
Christianity.  Without  this  last,  Christianity  would 
soon  forfeit  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  en¬ 
lightened  and  upper  classes  of  society ;  and  their 
influence,  the  infection  of  their  example,  would 
speedily  descend  among  the  people,  among  whom 
at  length  the  ordinances  of  the  Gospel,  and  more 
especially  the  hearing  of  it,  would  fall  into  general 
neglect  and  desuetude.  Even  were  it  possible 
that  our  religion  could  have  had  its  present  ex¬ 
perimental  and  popular,  without  its  historical  and 
scientific  evidence ;  yet,  wanting  the  latter,  the 
former  would  cease  to  be  operative,  simply  by 
its  ceasing  to  be  attended  to.  Whatever  evidence 
may  lie  enveloped,  like  some  pearl  of  great  price 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  197 

in  an  unopened  casket,  in  the  subject  matter  of 
Christianity — it  must  be  altogether  fruitless,  with¬ 
out  an  earnest  and  persevering  regard  on  the  part 
of  conscience-stricken  inquirers,  and,  who  in  gen¬ 
eral  too,  are  only  so  stricken  in  the  act  of  reading 
their  Bibles  or  of  listening  to  the  friends  and  the 
ministers  of  religion.  But  if  in  any  country, 
Christianity  should  become  the  object  of  general 
contempt  to  the  higher  and  more  intellectual 
orders  of  the  community,  both  ministers  and  Bibles 
would  in  process  of  time  become  the  objects  of 
general  abandonment  by  the  multitude  at  large. 
It  is  merefore  Well  that  Christianity  possesses  that 
which,  on  justice  being  done  to  its  credentials  and 
its  claims,  must  command  for  it  the  homage  of  the 
most  exalted  whether  in  rank  or  in  scholarship; 
and  accordingly  in  Britain,  where  perhaps  the 
aristocracy  both  of  wealth  and  of  talent  is  more 
virtuous  than  in  most  other  nations,  the  erudite  or 
academic  demonstration  of  the  truth  of  Christianity 
has  been  most  studied  ;  and  it  is  well,  we  repeat, 
that  Christianity  is  so  firmly  based  on  this  species 
of  argument,  as  to  have  kept  its  ground  among 
the  reasoners.  It  is  not  the  power  or  the  triumph 
of  this  argument  which  works  among  the  multi¬ 
tude  a  general  faith  in  the  Christian  religion  ;  but 
it  has  helped,  it  has  greatly  though  it  may  be  in¬ 
directly  helped,  to  maintain  their  general  respect 
for  it ;  and  whatever  the  influence  may  be,  w  hether 
it  is  hereditary  attachment  or  the  mechanical 
operation  of  habit  or  the  testimony  of  their  supe¬ 
riors  in  favour  of  the  established  religion,  which 
keeps  up  their  adherence  to  Bibles  and  to  the 


198  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 

pulpits  of  the  land — it  is  in  virtue  of  that  adher¬ 
ence,  that  their  minds  are  kept  in  a  state  of  con¬ 
tiguity  with  the  subject  matter  of  the  Gospel,  and 
that  the  self-evidence  which  lies  in  the  Gospel 
itself  is  brought  to  bear  upon  them,  so  as  to  work 
in  many  that  faith  which  is  unto  salvation.  Dis¬ 
tinction  should  be  made  between  the  initial  and 
the  final  in  this  operation.  It  is  not  the  learned 
argument  that  converts  the  unlearned,  but  the  re¬ 
spect  of  the  learned  in  society  leaves  undisturbed 
the  respect  and  attention  of  the  unlearned  to  the 
lessons  of  the  Gospel ;  and  it  is  by  the  power  of 
these  lessons  upon  their  consciences  that  rne  un¬ 
learned  among  the  people  are  converted.  But 
what  is  more,  it  is  not  the  learned  argument  that 
converts  even  the  learned  of  the  community.  It 
may  conciliate  them  so  far  as  to  command  their 
acquiescence  or  their  intellectual  homage  for  the 
truth  of  revelation.  It  may  satisfy  their  under¬ 
standings  as  to  the  critical  and  historical  creden¬ 
tials  of  the  book ;  but  to  experience  the  truth  in 
its  power  or  in  its  saving  efficacy,  they  must  be¬ 
come  experimentally  acquainted  with  the  contents 
of  the  book.  Their  satisfaction  with  the  creden¬ 
tials  will,  on  the  one  hand,  but  aggravate  their 
indifference  to  the  contents  of  the  Bible  ;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  is  only  when  they  pass  from  the 
study  of  the  one  to  the  earnest  and  prayerful  and 
conscientious  study  of  the  other — it  is  only  after 
they  have  opened  their  Bibles  and  are  devoutly 
and  diligently  employed  in  exploring  its  pages,  that 
they  are  in  likely  circumstances  for  obtaining  that 
faith,  which  enters  alike  into  the  mind  of  the  phita. 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  199 

sopher  and  peasant,  and  prepares  them  alike  for 
heaven.  Both  are  admitted  to  the  mysteries  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  the  same  way  and  upon 
the  same  footing  at  the. last.  The  light  which 
shines  out  of  darkness,  shines  in  the  very  same  way 
on  the  mind  of  the  most  accomplished  savant ,  and  on 
the  humblest  of  the  common  people.  It  is  the  light 
of  its  moral  or  experimental  or  doctrinal  evidence 
manifested  to  the  conscience  which  christianizes 
them  both ;  and  even  the  proudest  of  reasoners 
must  thus  humble  themselves  and  become  as  little 
children,  ere  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  becomes  theirs 
— even  that  truth  which  is  hid  from  the  wise  and 
the  prudent,  and  is  revealed  only  to  babes. 

19.  The  external  evidence  for  the  truth  of 
Christianity  is  such  as  to  leave  infidelity  without 
excuse,  even  though  the  remaining  important 
branches  of  the  Christian  defence  had  been  less 
strong  and  satisfactory  than  they  are.  “  The 
works  that  I  do  in  my  Father’s  name,  they  bear 
witness  of  me.”  “  And  if  I  had  not  done  the 
works  among  them  which  none  other  man  did,  they 
had  not  sinned.”  But  the  study  of  the  historical 
evidence  is  not  the  only  channel  to  a  faith  in  the  truth 
of  Christianity.  How  can  it  in  the  face  of  the 
obvious  fact,  that  there  are  thousands  and  thou¬ 
sands  of  Christians,  w.ho  bear  the  most  undeni¬ 
able  marks  of  the  truth  having  come  home  to  their 
understanding  “  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and 
of  power  ?”  They  have  an  evidence  within  them 
selves,  which  the  world  knoweth  not,  even  the  pro¬ 
mised  manifestations  of  the  Saviour.  This  evi¬ 
dence  is  '“a  sign  to  them  that  believe  £  but  the 


200  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 


Bible  speaks  also  of  another  evidence,  which  is  <c  a 
sign  to  them  that  believe  not and  should  it  be 
effectual  in  reclaiming  any  of  these  from  their  in¬ 
fidelity,  a  mighty  object  is  gained  by  the  exhibi¬ 
tion  of  it.  Should  it  not  be  effectual,  it  will  be  to 
them  “  a  savour  of  death  unto  death  f  and  this 
is  one  of  the  very  effects  ascribed  to  the  proclama¬ 
tion  of  Christian  truth  in  the  first  ages.  if,  even 
in  the  face  of  that  kind  of  evidence  which  they 
have  a  relish  and  respect  for,  they  still  hold  out 
against  the  reception  of  the  Gospel,  this  must 
aggravate  the  weight  of  the  threatening  which  lies 
upon  them :  4 4  How  shall  they  escape  if  they  ne¬ 
glect  so  great  a  salvation  ?”  It  were  well,  then,  if 
the  effect  of  having  studied  the  historical  evidence 
should  be  a  stronger  determination  than  before  to 
take  our  Christianity  exclusively  from  the  Bible. 
It  is  not  enough  to  entitle  a  man  to  the  name  of  a 
Christian,  that  he  professes  to  believe  the  Bible 
to  be  a  genuine  communication  from  God.  To 
be  the  disciple  of  any  .book,  he  must  do  something 
more  than  satisfy  himself  that  its  contents  are  true 
— he  must  read  the  book — he  must  obtain  a  know¬ 
ledge  of  the  contents.  And  how  many  are  there  in 
the  world,  who  do  not  call  the  truth  of  the  Bible 
message  in  question,  while  they  suffer  it  to  lie  be¬ 
side  them  unopened,  unread,  and  unattended  to  ! 

20.  But  if,  on  the  one  hand,  the  evidence  which 
tells  upon  the  people,  should  not  lead  us  to  underva 
lue  that  evidence  on  which  Christianity  makes  its  ap¬ 
peal  to  the  science  and  the  scholarship  of  the  most 
enlightened  in  society — on  the  other  hand,  no 
evidence^  whether  external  or  internal,  or  with 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  201 

whatever  truth  and  ability  it  may  be  expounded, 
should  lead  us  to  forget  our  entire  dependence  on 
the  spirit  of  God.  All  the  powers  and  all  the 
activities  of  nature  will  be  of  no  avail,  without  the 
visitation  of  this  preternatural  influence  from 
Heaven.  There  is  nothing  to  supersede  the 
utmost  diligence  in  the  use  of  means — when  told 
what  that  is  which  gives  to  means  all  their  efficacy. 
It  should  not  slacken  the  workman’s  hand,  it  should 
rather  put  him  on  all  his  strenuousness — when  told 
that  the  high  capacity  in  which  he  labours,  is.  that 
of  a  fellow  worker  with  God  :  But  still,  if  God  be 
not  recognized  in  the  process,  all  human  labour 
will  be  vain  and  all  human  wisdom  a  mockery.  In 
other  words,  it  we  want  to  insure  success,  prayer 
must  be  added  to  performance.  The  building  of 
churches — the  gathering  of  congregations — even 
the  preaching  of  the  word,  with  whatever  eloquence 
or  talent — all  will  turn  out  the  unmeaning  noise 
and  bustle  of  an  empty  preparation,  without  the 
effectual  invocation  of  a  blessing  from  on  high. 
The  Apostles,  in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity, 

seem  to  have  been  abundantly  sensible  of  this _ 

when  they  said,  “  We  will  give  ourselves  continu¬ 
ally  to  prayer  and  to  the  ministry  of  the  word.”* 
It  was  not  enough  to  have  preached  the  Word,  even 
with  the  purity  of  an  Apostle.  It  must  be  preached, 
not  with  purity  alone  but  with  power — even  that 
power,  given  only  to  prayer,  which  opens  the  gate  of 
heaven,  and  “  moves  him  who  moves  the  universe.” 
There  is  not  a  more  delightful  occupation  than 


*  Acts  vi.  4. 
I  2 


202  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 

the  prosperous  management  of  human  nature — 
when  schemes  of  education  and  Christian  philan¬ 
thropy  have  so  far  a  successful  issue;  and  the 
boyhood  of  a  before  neglected  locality  are  now 
assembled  in  schools;  and  the  people  at  large, 
obedient  to  the  sound  of  the  church-bell,  are  now 
to  be  seen  Sabbath  after  Sabbath  in  the  house  of 
God.  But  even  this  spectacle,  inexpressibly 
pleasing  as  it  is  to  the  eye  of  taste,  and  full  of 
promise  and  expectancy  to  every  lover  of  his 
species,  will  terminate  in  a  mere  civil  or  economical 
reformation,  and  without  any  fruit  for  immortality 
— unless  the  windows  of  the  upper  sanctuary  be 
opened,  and  living  water*  shall  be  made  to  descend 
upon  us.  We  might  build  our  churches — we 
might  chalk  out  our  parishes — we  might  open  our 
seminaries  of  learning ;  and  raise,  in  the  midst  of 
some  favourite  and  selected  territory,  a  full  com¬ 
plement  of  busy  and  well-ordered  institutions,  by 
which  to  send  forth  a  moralizing  influence  upon 
the  families.  But,  in  the  first  place,  to  work 
aright  this  moral  apparatus  that  our  hands  have 
reared,  we  are  altogether  dependent  on  the  Spirit 
of  God  for  the  men ;  and,  accordingly  we  are  told, 
not  merely  to  send  labourers  ourselves,  but  to  pray 
that  God  would  send  them,  who  might  enter  on 
the  plenteous  harvest  of  our  large  and  teeming 
population.  And  then  for  the  efficacy,  for  the 
real  saving  and  spiritual  efficacy  of  their  labours, 
we  must  continue  to  knock  at  that  door  which  we 
cannot  open — that  light  and  grace  may  descend  on 


•  John  vii.  38,  39 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  203 

this  busy  scene  of  human  endeavours,  and  God  may 
revive  His  own  work  in  the  midst  of  us.  Could 
any  thing  exceed  the  labour  and  the  locomotion  of 
Paul? — the  fervour  and  constancy  of  his  ministra¬ 
tions  ? — the  weight  and  variety  of  his  multitudinous 
cares?  And  yet  what  a  life  of  supplication  was  his, 
as  well  as  of  sustained  diligence  and  activity  ;  and 
how  he  cast  himself  on  the  intercessions  of  his  own 
converts — imploring  the  benefit  of  their  prayers. 
And  it  holds  true,  not  in  the  first  age  only,  but  in 
all  ages  of  the  church.  It  is  only  by  the  union  of 
devout  hearts  with  diligent  hands,  that  Christianity 
will  either  be  planted  firmly  or  propagated  widely 
in  the  midst  of  us.  Prayer  and  performance  must 
go  together.  We  should  be  as  diligent  as  if  men 
did  all.  We  should  be  as  dependent  as  if  God 
did  all.  Our  pains-taking  of  itself  will  do  nothing 
without  prayer.  And  it  is  just  as  true  that  our 
prayers  of  themselves  will  do  nothing  without 
pains.  It  is  the  recorded  experience  of  one  of  the 
most  zealous  and  successful  of  Christian  mission¬ 
aries,  that  it  is  in  the  power  of  pains  and  of  prayers 
to  do  any  thing. 

21.  II.  This  reasoning  on  the  means  and  the 
likelihoods  of  Christianization  at  home,  is  appli¬ 
cable,  in  many  leading  respects,  to  the  question  of 
Christianization  abroad.  The  true  philosophy  pf 
missions  is  comprehensive  of  both — resting  on  this 
basis,  the  identity  of  human  nature  in  all  the 
climes  and  countries  of  the  world.  He  who  made 
of  the  same  blood  all  the  nations  that  be  on  the 
face  of  the  earth,  hath  also  made  them  of  the 


204  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 

same  spirit,  planted  within  the  breast  of  each  and 
of  every  man  the  same  mental  economy ;  and, 
since  the  original  formation  of  our  first  great 
parent,  all  have  undergone  the  same  degeneracy 
and  are  universally  smitten  with  the  same  moral 
disease — so  that  the  Gospel,  whether  in  the  house 
of  Our  next  door  neighbour  or  among  the  farthest 
wilds  and  on  the  most  distant  confines  of  humanity, 
meets  with  the  same  adaptations,  the  same  sense 
of  guilt,  the  same  apprehensions  of  a  coming  judg¬ 
ment,  the  same  felt  need  of  a  Saviour,  in  a  word 
the  same  fears  and  feelings  and  principles,  which, 
similarly  called  forth  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  will 
give  the  very  same  response  and  the  very  same 
reception  to  the  truths  of  Christianity  all  the  world 
over.  We  must  not  wonder  at  the  uniformity  in 
the  result — seeing  that  the  same  doctrine  meets 
with  the  same  consciences  every  where.  There 
is  no  difference  in  the  objective  truth,  when  we 
preach  the  same  doctrine  to  every  creature  under 
heaven  ;  and  no  such  difference  in  the  subjective 
minds  on  which  we  operate,  as  to  make  the  recep¬ 
tion  of  Christianity  an  event  that  might  take  place 
in  one  country  and  be  impossible  in  another.  In 
a  word,  there  are  the  same  minds  and  the  same 
consciences  in  both;  and  there  is  the  same  instru¬ 
mentality  brought  to  bear  on  both — even  the  one 
and  unchangeable  doctrine  of  the  New  Testament. 
And  there  is  the  same  agent  for  giving  effect  to 
that  instrumentality— even  the  Spirit  of  God  in 
whose  demonstration  and  by  whose  power  it  is, 
that  the  truth  is  made  palpable  and  efficient.  So 
that  by  preaching  alike  in  all  countries  the  same 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  205 

truth,  even  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus;  and  by 
praying  alike  for  the  same  blessing,  even  for  an 
illumination  from  on  high — this  truth  is  made  mani¬ 
fest  to  consciences  every  where :  or,  in  other  words, 
the  Gospel  of  Christ  may  be  carried  with  accep¬ 
tance  to  all  tribes  and  nations  and  languages. 

22.  It  is  thus  that  the  philosophy  of  missions 
might  be  vindicated.  It  is  an  axiom  in  philosophy 
that  we  should  look  for  a  like  effect  from  like 
causes — a  like  manufacture  from  like  materials. 
In  the  work  of  conversion  the  materials  on  which 
we  operate  is  the  same,  whether  at  home  or  in 
India — the  identical  human  nature,  that  is  charac¬ 
teristic  not  of  tribe  or  of  nation,  but  is  characteristic 
of  the  species.  The  instrument  by  which  we 
operate  is  the  same — the  identical  doctrine  of  the 
Bible,  the  identical  message  from  heaven  to  all  the 
people  that  be-  upon  the  earth.  The  power  which 
gives  the  instrument  its  efficacy  is  the  same— even  that 
Spirit  who  bloweth  where  he  listeth,  and  who  with 
but  the  Bible  to  pioneer  his  way,  disowns  all  the 
distinctions  of  savage  or  civilized  life  and  all  the 
barriers  of  geography.  In  the  prosecution  of  this 
cause,  we  transfer  to  other  lands  the  very  machinery 
which  is  at  work  in  our  own  parishes.  We  trans¬ 
late  the  sacred  volume  and  circulate  it  amongst 

o 

them.  We  send  school-masters  who  might  teach 
them  to  read  this  vernacular  Bible.  We  send 
ministers  who  expound  it.  We  knock  at  the  door 
of  heaven’s  sanctuary,  that  a  virtue  may  descend 
from  on  high,  and  God  may  add  the  grace  of  His 
Spirit  to  the  testimony  of  His  word.  We  cannot 
overthrow  the  sufficiency  of  this  process,  but  by 


206  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 

an  argument  that  would  nullify  all  the  christian¬ 
izing  processes  of  our  own  land.  We  cannot  put 
down  this  cause  without  passing  sentence  of 
extinction  on  the  religious  light  of  all  Christendom. 
We  cannot  rightfully  charge  the  work  of  mission¬ 
aries  beyond  this  limit  with  fanaticism  or  folly, 
without  fastening  the  brand  of  these  very  imputa¬ 
tions  on  the  work  of  ministers  within.  If  no 
Christianity  can  be  formed  there  without  the  power 
of  working  present  miracles,  or  the  power  of 
evincing  to  the  be’lief  of  savages  the  reality  of  past 
miracles — then  no  Christianity  can  be  formed  here 
throughout  the  mass  and  great  majority  of  our 
own  population.  But  if  Christianity  can  be  formed 
here  by  the  simple  power  of  truth  upon  the  con¬ 
science,  this  is  the  principle  which  opens  the 
world  to  the  enterprize  of  missionaries.  Where- 
ever  there  is  a  human  being  there  is  a  conscience ; 
and  on  this  ground  alone,  the  message  of  salvation 
might  circulate  around  the  globe,  and  be  carried 
with  acceptance  through  all  its  nations  and  tribes 
and  families. 

23.  When  the  first  missionaries  went  to  Green¬ 
land,  we  may  be  sure  that  they  had  the  ignorance 
of  a  most  raw  and  unfurnished  population  to  con¬ 
tend  with.  They  thought  they  would  go  system¬ 
atically  to  work — and  before  presenting  them  with 
the  Christian  message  in  the  terms  of  the  message, 
that  they  would  give  them  some  preparatory  ideas 
on  natural  religion.  For  this  purpose  they  expati¬ 
ated  in  formal  demonstration  on  the  existence  and 
unity  and  the  attributes  and  the  law  of  God.  The 
Sreenlanders  did  not  comprehend  them ;  and  the 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  207 

missionaries  were  mortified  to  find,  that,  after  years 
of  labour,  they  had  not  gained  a  single  proselyte 
to  the  truth.  On  this  they  resolved  to  change 
their  measures— and,  as  a  last  desperate  experiment, 
they  gave  up  all  their  preparatory  instructions, 
and  made  one  great  and  decisive  step  onward  to 
the  peculiar  doctrines,  and  these  too  couched  in 
the  peculiar  phraseology  of  the  Gospel.  When 
simply  told  in  scripture  words  of  sin  and  of  the 
Saviour,  the  effect  was  instantaneous.  There  was 
something  in  the  hearts  of  these  unlettered  men, 
which  responded  to  the  views  and  tidings  of  the 
New  1  e-stament.  The  demonstrations  of  natura. 
religion  fell  fruitless  and  unintelligible  upon  their 
ear ;  but  they  felt  the  burden  of  sin  and  of  death ; 
and  pleasant  to  their  souls  was  the  preacher’s  voice, 
when  it  told  that  unto  them  a  Saviour  was  born. 

rlhey  live  on  the  very  outskirts  of  population _ 

and  beyond  them  there  is  nothing  seen  but  a 
wilderness  of  snow,  and  nothing  heard  but  the 
angry  howling  of  the  elements.  Who  will  say 
that  the  enterprize  is  chimerical  now,  that  a  Chris¬ 
tian  people  have  been  formed  in  a  country  so 
unpromising,  that  the  limits  of  the  visible  church 
have  been  pushed  forward  to  the  limits  of  human 
existence,  and  the  tidings  of  good  will  to  men  have 
been  carried  with  acceptance  to  the  very  last  and 
outermost  of  the  species? 

24.  The  discovery  that  was  made  by  the  Mora¬ 
vians  was  converted  by  them  into  a  principle 
which  they  carried  round  the  globe ;  and  which 
ever  since  has  been  the  fertile  source  of  their 
marvellous  success  in  the  work  of  evangelizing  the 


208  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 

heathen.  They  now  learned  that  it  was  impossible 
to  antedate  the  message  of  the  Gospel  in  any 
land,  and  they  availed  themselves  of  this  Greenland 
experience  in  all  their  subsequent  operations — 
among  the  Esquimaux  of  Labrador,  among  the 
Indians  of  North  America,  among  the  negroes  of 
the  Danish  and  the  Dutch  and  the  British  colonies, 
and  lastly  among  the  Hottentots  of  South  Africa. 
As  the  effect  of  their  peculiar  yet  powerful  moral 
regimen,  villages  have  arisen  in  the  wilderness; 
and  we  now  behold  men  of  before  untamed  and 
savage  nature,  as  if  by  the  touch  of  miracle,  com¬ 
pletely  because  radically  transformed — living  in 
gentleness  together,  and  tutored  in  the  arts  and 
the  decencies  of  a  civilized  people.  Many  there 
are,  who  nauseate  the  peculiar  evangelism  which 
lies  at  the  root  of  this  great  moral  and  spiritual 
change,  yet  are  forced  to  admire  the  beauteous 
efflorescence  which  proceeds  from  it— just  as  there 
are  many  who  can  eye  with  delight  the  graces  of  a 
cultivated  landscape,  yet  have  no  taste  for  the 
operations  of  the  husbandry  which  called  it  into 
being.  Certain  it  is  that  Moravians  have  become 
the  objects  of  a  popular  and  sentimental  admiration 
among  men,  who  could  not  tolerate  the  methodis- 
tical  flavour  as  they  may  term  it,  of  a  Moravian 
Report— a  thing  just  as  possible,  as  that  they 
might  feel  a  most  exquisite  relish  for  their  music 
along  with  a  thorough  distaste  for  their  hymns. 
The  fruit  and  the  flower  are  both  pleasing  to  the 
eye  of  Nature,  with  many  to  whom  the  culture  is 
offensive,  and  who  could  not  look  upon  it  without 
the  revolt  of  Nature’s  enmity  to  the  truth  as  it  is 


THE  EVIDENGE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  209 

in  Jesus.  And  therefore  it  is,  that  they  look  only 
to  the  one,  and  contrive  to  overlook  the  other. 
And  accordingly  Moravians  have  of  late,  become 
the  objects  of  very  general  request,  as  well  as  gene¬ 
ral  admiration.  Their  services  are  every  where 
sought  after.  It  was  a  most  substantial  testimony 
in  their  favour,  when  the  West  India  planters  found 
the  best  results  fromjlieir  preaching  and  discipline, 

in  the  good  order  and  fidelity  of  their  slaves _ 

proving  of  the  most  degraded  and  oppressed  of  our 
species — that  still  there  was  a  moral  nature  within, 
which  felt  the  adaptations  of  the  Gospel  and  could 
respond  to  them. 

25.  This  seems  the  best  plan  for  the  adjustment 
of  the  question,  whether  the  first  attempt  should 
be  to  christianize  or  to  civilize — or  which  of  these 
ought  to  have  the  precedency  of  the  other.  The 
Moravians  themselves  have  innocently  given  rise 
to  a  delusion  on  this  subject.  The  result  in  their 
converts  has  now  become  so  striking  and  so  pal¬ 
pable — they  have  at  length  succeeded  in  raising  so 
beauteous  a  spectacle,  as  that  of  Christian  and 
well-ordered  villages,  in  what  were  before  the 
frightful  haunts  of  prowling  and  plundering  barba¬ 
rians — there  is  something  so  inexpressibly  pleasing 
in  the  chapel  services,  and  the  well  attended 
schools,  and  the  picturesque  gardens,  and  the  snug 
habitations  and  prosperous  husbandry  of  reclaimed 
Hottentots,  that  Moravians  are  now  extolled  by 
sentimental  travellers  and  eloquent  writers  as  an 
example,  nay  as  a  reproach  to  all  other  mission¬ 
aries.  And  they  have  supposed,  perhaps  naturally 
enough,  that  what  was  foremost  in  exhibition  was 


210  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER  OF 

also  first  in  time— that  the  Christianity,  in  short, 
was5  a  graft  upon  the  civilization,  and  not  the  civi¬ 
lization  a  graft  upon  the  Christianity.  There 
were  none  more  hurt  and  scandalized  by  these  . 
eulogies  than  the  Moravians  themselves — and  they 
have  actually  penned  a  vindication  of  their  method, 
not  against  the  censure  of  malignant  enemies,  but 
against  the  praise  of  mistaken  admirers.  The 
whole  history,  in  fact,  of  their  success,  we  may 
add,  the  whole  history  of  Christianization  since 
the  days  of  the  apostles,  goes  to  prove,  that  where- 
ever  the  faith  of  the  Gospel  arises  in  the  min{j 
is  rooted  and  has  its  deep  foundation  in  the  work¬ 
ings  of  that  moral  nature  which  is  common  to  all 
the  species — and  that  it  springs  not  from  so  thin  a 
layer  as  that  surface-dressing  of  civilization,  by 
which  one  part  of  the  species  is  distinguished  from 
another.  And  so  it  is,  that  they  begin  with  the 
topics  of  sin  and  of  the  Saviour  at  the  very  outset 
of  their  converse,  even  with  the  rudest  of  nature’s 
wanderers — and  they  find  a  conscience  in  them 
which  responds  as  readily  to  their  sayings,  and 
with  less  of  presumption  and  prejudice  to  obstruct 
their  efficacy,  as  in  the  lettered  Mahometan  or 
demi-civilized  Hindoo.  It  is  true,  they  also  at¬ 
tempt,  as  all  other  missionaries  do,  to  initiate  into 
the  arts  and  industry  of  Europe  from  the  very 
beginning  of  their  enterprise — and  the  two  educa¬ 
tions  of  religion  and  humanity  go  on  contempor¬ 
aneously  together.  It  may,  in  some  instances,  be 
difficult  to  assign  what  the  precedency  is  in  the 
order  of  time — but  as  to  the  precedency  in  the 
order  of  nature,  or  in  the  order  of  cause  and  effect, 


THE  EVIDENCE  FOR  CHRISTIANITY.  211 


there  is  no  difficulty.  It  is  not  the  previous  civili¬ 
zation  which  makes  way  for  the  Christianity — it  is 
tne  previous  incipient  Christianity  which  makes 
way  for  the  civilization.  This  is  the  strict  philo¬ 
sophy  of  the  process.  Christianity  does  not  wait 
for  civilization — it  is  civilization  that  waits  and 
follows  with  attendant  footsteps  on  Christianity. 
In  a  word,  the  message  of  God  to  man  may  be 
delivered  immediately  to  all  men.  It  is  a  message 

alike  to  the  barbarian  and  the  Greek _ and  here, 

too,  as  in  every  thing  else,  there  is  the  fullest 
harmony  between  the  declarations  of  the  Gospel 
-elf,  and  the  findings  of  experience. 

26.  This  explains  that  very  prevalent  miscon¬ 
ception,  in  virtue  of  which  it  is,  that  while  in  the 
West  Indies  more  especially,  and  indeed  through¬ 
out  a  great  portion  of  British  society*  there  was 
such  demand  and  admiration  for  Moravians,  there 
was  along  with  it  some  years  ago  so  strong  a 
1  emainder  of  dislike  and  even  of  derision  for  all 
other  missionaries.  The  reason  was  simply  this. 
The  Moravians  were  the  oldest  of  all  our  modern 
Protestant  missionaries — and  they  had  time  to 
work  up  a  more  conspicuous  result  as  the  evidence 
of  their  labours.  They  also,  went  through  the 
very  ^ordeal  of  contempt  and  of  bitter  calumny 

which  other  missionaries  had  still  to  undergo _ and 

must  continue  to  endure,  so  long  as  the  Christian¬ 
ity  of  the  attempt  stands  out  more  nakedly  to  the 
eye  of  worldly  observers ;  and  the  mantle  of  civili¬ 
zation  is  not  yet  sufficiently  thickened  to  cover  it 
from  their  view.  There  may  be  even  still  a  raw¬ 
ness  in  the  more  recent  village  of  Bethelsdorp, 


212  ON  THE  PORTABLE  CHARACTER,  &C. 

which  is  now  most  comfortably  and  completely 
seasoned  away,  in  the  older  establishments  of  the 
Moravians.  The  one  is ’just  as  solidly  and  deeply 
founded  as  the  other,  in  the  sacredness  of  the 
enterprise  which  led  to  it.  But  there  may  not 
yet  be  that  secondary  luxuriance,  which  catches 
the  eye  and  calls  forth  the  homage  of  sentimental¬ 
ism.  The  honey-suckle  has  perhaps  not  fully 
grown  at  each  cottage  door — nor  may  the  picture 
yet  be  completed  for  the  enraptured  traveller  to 
gaze  upon,  and  at  which  he  kindles  perchance  into 
strains  of  sweetest  poesy.  So  meagre,  so  utterly 
superficial  and  ignorant  and  meagre,  are  the  con¬ 
ceptions  of  those,  who  while  they  would  exalt  the 
Moravians,  do  it  at  the  expense  of  the  Methodist 
and  of  all  other  missionaries.  There  is  in  it  the 
mere  finery  of  sentimental  prettiness,  without  the 
depth  of  Christian  principle,  without  the  substance 
or  the  depth  of  philosophic  observation. 


* 


BOOK  IV. 


ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  JEWISH  AND  CHRIS¬ 
TIAN  REVELATION,  AND  THE  DEGREE  OF 
AUTHORITY  WHICH  BELONGS  TO  THEM. 


CHAPTER  I. 

t)n  the  Canon  of  Scripture  ;  and ,  more  especially , 
of  the  Old  Testament . 

i.  The  term  “  canon”  has  long  been  employed,  to 
distinguish  the  real  or  authoritative  books  of  re¬ 
velation  from  all  other  books,  whether  they  pre¬ 
tended  to  this  high  character  or  not.  The  origin 
and  significancy  of  the  word  in  this  particular 
application  of  it,  seem  not  very  clear.  In  the 
primitive  use  of  it,  it  denoted  the  tongue  of  a 
balance — whence,  by  no  very  distant  transition,  it 
'tame  to  mean  a  rule  or  standard.  Every  book 
that  is  the  genuine  work  of  an  inspired  man,  is  an 
absolute  rule  of  faith  or  life  for  all  who  are  address¬ 
ed  by  it.  St.  Paul,  in  Gal.  vi.  16,  speaks  of  those 
who  “  walk  according  to  this  rule,”  aavovi  tovtoj;  and 
in  Phil.  iii.  16,  he  says  “  let  us  walk  by  the  same 
rule,”  ta>  avrco  kclvovu  To  walk  according  to  the 
canon  of  certain  doctrines  or  precepts,  is  to  walk 
according  to  the  rule  and  direction  of  the  scriptures 
which  contain  them — which  may  be  well  therefore 
termed  canonical,  because  of  their  prerogative  to 
rule,  or  because  of  the  authority  which  belongs  to 


214  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

them.  Certain  it  is,  that  the  term,  in  this  sense 
and  application  of  it,  was  very  early,  and  at  length 
very  generally  made  use  of  in  the  Christian  church. 
It  appears  in  phrases  of  constant  recurrence 
throughout  the  works  of  Irenseus,  Clemens  Alex- 
andrinus,  Athanasius,  Epiphanius,  Jerome,  Augus¬ 
tine,  Eusebius  and  others. 

2.  W e  may  be  well  assured  that  all  those  books 
which  were  admitted  into  the  canon,  obtained  this 
high  distinction,  because  of  the  peculiar  respect  and 
confidence  in  which  they  were  held  at  the  time,  and 
which  signalized  them  over  all  other  books.  But 
the  testimony  of  these  other  and  inferior  books  is  re¬ 
garded  by  many  as  the  main,  the  fundamental  evi¬ 
dence,  for  the  canonical  rank  of  our  present  scrip¬ 
tures.  In  the  treatment  of  this  question,  we  are  liable 
to  the  same  delusion  as  that  which  we  have  already 
attempted  to  expose.  We  are  apt  to  look  on  the 
Bible,  the  whole  Bible,  as  one  book ;  and,  instead 
of  admitting  its  evidence  in  favour  of  itself,  to 
search  for  the  testimonies  of  writers  external  to  the 
Bible — as  if  these  constituted  the  only  external 
evidence  for  the  canon  which  can  anywhere  be 
found.  It  is  forgotten  that  the  Bible  consists  of 
no  less  than  sixty-six  separate  compositions,  all  of 
them  possessing  the  highest  authority  in  ancient 
esteem — else  they  would  never  have  been  preferred 
to  the  place  which  they  now  occupy.  The  very 
circumstance  which  has  caused  their  testimony  to 
be  overlooked,  is  that  which  gives  the  greatest 
possible  weight  and  value  to  it.  When  a  scriptural 
writer  is  deported  to  by  an  exscriptural — this  is  a 
testimony  of  some  account  in  favour  of  the  former. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  215 

But  of  far  higher  account  surely,  as  generally  the 
more  ancient,  and  certainly  the  most  trusted  at  the 
time  by  the  best  and  most  competent  judges,  must 
be  the  testimonies  of  the  scriptural  writers  in  favour 
ot  each  other.  These  last  testimonies  have  cer¬ 
tainly  been  much  overlooked,  as  if  hidden  from 
observation  by  being  placed  within  the  four  corners 
of  the  Bible.  If  so,  they  are  a  hidden  treasure 
— nor  have  we  been  made  aware  of  the  whole  rich¬ 
ness  and  power  of  the  argument  in  behalf  of  scrip¬ 
ture,  till  we  have  collected  all  the  rays  of  evidence 
which  pass  and  repass  from  one  independent  part 
of  this  great  collection  to  another.  There  is  a 
descending  stream  of  light  in  the  testimonies  of 
subsequent  writers ;  and  these  have  drawn  the 
principal  attention  of  inquirers.  But  there  is,  in 
our  estimation,  a  surpassing  radiance  of  primitive 
and  central  light,  in  the  testimonies  of  the  original 
writers  ;  and  so,  at  least,  as  to  furnish  the  strongest 
internal  evidence  for  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment.  The  later  scriptures  must  of  course  parti¬ 
cipate  less  in  this  advantage — as  they  depend  more 
on  the  citations  and  references  of  succeeding 
authors.  But  it  is  truly  fortunate,  that,  for  the 
greater  distance  at  which  the  more  ancient  record 
stands  from  the  present  age,  and  so  the  less  satisfac¬ 
tory  evidence  by  which  it  is  either  followed  or  encom¬ 
passed,  we  should  enjoy  so  full  a  compensation  in 
that  evidence  which  it  harbours  within  the  recep¬ 
tacle  of  its  own  bosom.  We  propose,  therefore,  that 
our  chief  attention  should  be  given  to  this  peculiar 
evidence  for  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament — as 
illustrative  of  a  principle  for  which  we  have  the 


216  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

highest  value ;  and  which  we  have  stated  and  en¬ 
forced  in  another  place.*  It  will  afterwards  ap¬ 
pear,  how  much  the  establishment  of  the  canoni- 
city,  if  it  may  be  so  termed,  of  the  Old  Testament, 
prepares  the  way  for  the  inspiration  both  of  the 
Old  and  of  the  New. 

3.  We  are  not  to  imagine,  however,  that  the 
exscriptural  evidence  for  the  canon  of  the  Old 
Testament  is  either  weak  or  scanty.  We  have 
much  of  this  evidence  in  the  Apocrypha,  from  which 
also  we  gather,  as  we  do  abundantly  from  other 
history  besides,  the  zeal  and  tenacity  of  the  Jewish 
nation  on  the  subject  of  their  own  sacred  writings. 
In  the  first  book  of  Maccabees,  written,  it  is  gene¬ 
rally  thought  about  a  century  before  the  birth  of 
Christ,  and,  as  the  best  judges  hold,  by  a  more 
authentic  historian  than  even  Josephus,  we  have 
a  vivid  description  of  the  sufferings  of  the  Jews, 
under  the  persecution  which  they  sustained  from 
Antiochus  Epiphanes.  Among  other  cruelties  we 
are  told  that  4 4  when  they  (the  persecutors)  had 
rent  in  pieces  the  books  of  the  law  which  they 
found,  they  burnt  them  with  fire.  And  wheresoever 
was  found  with  any  the  book  of  the  testament,  or 
if  any  consented  to  the  law,  the  king’s  command¬ 
ment  was,  that  they  should  put  him  to  death.”f 
This  is  confirmed  by  Josephus,  whose  history  in¬ 
deed  of  this  period  is  very  much  taken  from  the 
book  that  we  are  now  quoting.  44  If  there  were  any 
sacred  book,  or  the  law  found,  it  was  destroyed,  and 
those  with  whom  they  were  found  miserably  perish- 


*  See  Book  II.  Chap.  iv.  §  16,  17.  f  1  Mac.  c.  i.  66,  57. 


ESPECIALLY  OP  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  217 

ed  also.”*  This  zeal  of  the  Jews  for  the  books  of 
their  religion  forms  a  guarantee  for  their  safe  cus¬ 
tody,  and  gives  a  confidence  in  their  received  cata¬ 
logue  of  genuine  and  authentic  scriptures  which 
we  should  not  have  felt,  had  the  people  been  indif¬ 
ferent  to  the  possession  or  the  preservation  of  them. 
With  such  a  national  character  as  theirs,  there  lies 
immense  evidence  for  the  canonicity  of  the  Old 
Testament,  in  the  one  circumstance  alone,  that  its 
books  were  generally  received  and  acknowledged 
by  the  J ews  as  their  scriptures,  or  the  books  of  their 
religion,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others.  The  state 
of  their  Bible  in  the  days  of  our  Saviour  carries  an 
evidence  in  itself,  for  its  being  indeed  the  true  and 
the  right  state  of  it ;  nor  can  we  imagine  how  that 
evidence  could  be  made  stronger,  than  by  the  dis¬ 
ruption  which  took  place  between  the  Jews  and 
the  Christians — and  yet  the  common  recognition 
which  both  continued  to  make  of  the  same  Old 
Testament.  Even  could  no  express  written  testi¬ 
monies  have  been  adduced,  in  favour  of  the  books 
which  compose  the  Hebrew  scriptures,  there  is  a 
firm  monumental  evidence  for  them,  in  the  general 
use  and  esteem  of  their  own  people-^-and  more 
especially  as  authenticated  by  the  actual  agreement 
between  these  two  hostile  bodies  of  witnesses,  the 
Christians  and  Jews,  who,  though  in  the  fiercest 
controversy  against  each  other  on  the  most  vital 
questions,  nevertheless  unite  in  the  homage  which 
they  render  to  our  present  Old  Testament.  This 
is  an  evidence  patent  to  all  eyes,  and  perhaps 

•  Joseph.  Antiq.  Book  XII.  c.  v.  §  4. 

VOL.  IV.  K 


218 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


undervalued  on  that  account — though,  in  our  esti¬ 
mation,  of  ten-fold  greater  weight  than  all  the  array 
of  those  testimonies  which  can  be  produced  by  the 
learned  from  Jewish  authors,  and  also  from  the 
earlier  of  the  Christian  fathers.  It  is  well,  how¬ 
ever,  that  such  an  array  can  be  exhibited.  It  is 
well  that  we  are  told  by  Josephus — “  We  have 
not  an  innumerable  multitude  of  books  among  us, 
disagreeing  from,  and  contradicting  one  another 
[as  the  Greeks  have],  but  only  twenty-two  *  books 


*  We  now  number  thirty-nine  books  in  the  Old  Testament ;  but 
these  are  all  comprised  in  the  twenty-four  or  twenty-two  books, 
their  estimated  number  in  earlier  times.  Ezra  and  his  Jewish 
colleagues  are  understood  to  have  made  out  an  enumeration  of 
twenty-four  books,  comprehending  however,  all  the  present  books 
of  our  received  Old  Testament,  and  including  none  other.  Their 
enumeration  stood  thus.  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers, 
Deuteronomy,  Joshua,  Judges,  Ruth,  Samuel  (our  two  present 
books  in  one),  Kings  (a  similar  reduction),  Chronicles  (again  two 
in  one),  Ezra  (which  included  Nehemiah),  Esther,  Job,  Psalms, 
Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes,  Canticles,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Lamentations, 
Ezekiel,  Daniel,  and  lastly  the  twelve  prophets  (being  the  minor 

prophets,  Hosea,  Joel,  Amos, Obadiah,  Jonah,  Micah,  Nahum,  Habak- 

kuk,  Zephaniah,  Ilaggai,  Zechariah,  Malachi)  in  one  book — making 
in  all  twenty-four  books  of  our  present  thirty-nine.  The  later 
Jews  reduced  this  number  to  twenty-two,  so  as  to  correspond 
with  the  Hebrew  alphabet — not,  however  by  abstracting  from 
the  canon  any  of  its  parts,  but  by  combining  in  two  instances, 
two  books  into  one,  appending  Ruth  to  the  book  of  Judges,  and 
the  Lamentations  to  Jeremiah.  This  method  of  classifying  the 
books  of  the  Old  Testament  variously,  has  somewhat  obscured 
the  distinctness  of  the  testimonies  in  their  favour.  In  the  general 
divisions  too  there  was  a  want  of  uniformity.  Josephus,  it  will  be 
seen,  enumerates  five  Mosaieal  or  Legal  bocks,  thirteen  Propheti¬ 
cal,  and  four  Poetical  or  Preceptive.  Whereas  with  many  of  the 
Hebrew  doctors,  perhaps  the  most  general  reckoning  amongst 
them  was  that  of  five  legal,  eight  prophetical  books,  and  eleven 
books  termed  hy  them  holy  writings,  or  Hagiographa.  Still 
later  the  whole  number  of  books  was  estimated  at  twenty-seven 
i — not  by  the  addition  or  abstraction  of  any  of  the  parts  from  the 
whole,  but  by  a  variation  in  the  reckoning  of  the  parts.  See 
Buxstorf’s  Tiberias  for  further  information  on  this  subject. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  219 

which  contain  the  records  of  all  the  past  times; 
which  are  justly  believed  to  be  divine.  And  of 
them  five  belong  to  Moses  which  contain  his  laws, 
and  the  traditions  of  the  origin  of  mankind  till  his 
death.  This  interval  of  time  from  the  death  of 
Moses  till  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes  king  of  Persia, 
who  reigned  after  Xerxes,  the  prophets  who  were 
after  Moses,  wrote  dowrn  what  was  done  in  their 
times  in  thirteen  books.  The  remaining  four  books 
contain  hymns  to  God,  and  precepts  for  the  con¬ 
duct  of  human  life.  It  is  true,  our  history  hath 
been  written  since  Artaxerxes  very  particularly, 
but  hath  not  been  esteemed  of  the  like  authority 
with  the  former  by  our  forefathers,  because  there 
hath  not  been  an  exact  succession  of  prophets 
since  that  time  :  and  how  firmly  we  have  given 
credit  to  these  books  of  our  own  nation  is  evident 
by  that  we  do ;  for  during  so  many  ages  as  have 
already  passed,  no  one  hath  been  so  bold  as  either 
to  add  any  thing  to  them,  to  take  any  thing  from 
them,  or  to  make  any  change  in  them ;  but  it  is 
become  natural  to  all  Jews,  immediately  and  from 
their  very  birth,  to  esteem  these  books  to  contain 
divine  doctrines,  and  to  persist  in  them,  and,  if 
occasion  be,  willingly  to  die  for  them.  For  it  is 
no  new  thing  for  our  captives,  many  of  them  in 
number,  and  frequently  in  time,  to  be  seen  to 
endure  racks  and  deaths  of  all  kinds  upon  the 
theatres,  that  they  may  not  be  obliged  to  say  one 
word  against  our  laws  and  the  records  which  con¬ 
tain  them ;  whereas  there  are  none  at  all  among 
the  Greeks  who  would  undergo  the  least  harm  on 
that  account,  no  nor  in  case  all  the  writings  that 


220 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


are  among  them  were  to  be  destroyed ;  for  they 

take  them  to  be  such  discourses  as  are  framed 

agreeably  to  the  inclinations  of  those  that  write 

them;  and  they  have  justly  the  same  opinion  of 

the  ancient  writers,  since  they  see  some  of  the 

present  generation  bold  enough  to  write  about 

such  affairs,  wherein  they  were  not  present,  nor 

had  concern  enough  to  inform  themselves  about 

them  from  those  that  knew  them ;  examples  of 

which  mav  be  had  in  this  late  war  of  ours,  where 
•/ 

some  persons  have  written  histories,  and  published 
them,  without  having  been  in  the  places  concerned, 
or  having  been  near  .them  when  the  actions  were 
done ;  but  these  men  put  a  few  things  together  by 
hearsay,  and  insolently  abuse  the  world,  and  call 
these  writings  by  the  name  of  Histories — It  is 
further  well  that  on  this  subject,  we  have  such  a 
galaxy  of  evidence,  in  the  authors  whom  Josephus 
refers  to  in  the  foregoing  passage — who  wrote  the 
Jewish  history  since  the  days  of  Artaxerxes ;  and 
who,  though  not  esteemed  of  like  authority  with 
the  canonical  writers,  might  nevertheless  (at  least 
some  of  them)  be  confided  in  as  faithful  historians. 
Josephus  intimates,  as  the  reason  why  they  were 
not  so  esteemed,  that  the  nation  was  not  so  pri¬ 
vileged  as  formerly  with  the  visits  of  prophetical 

•  Joseph,  against  Apion,  Book  I.  §  8.  Had  Josephus  not 
chanced  to  bequeath  this  passage  to  posterity,  ought  the  evidenco 
for  the  Hebrew  scriptures  to  have  been  sensibly  weaker  in  conse¬ 
quence  ?  Should  not  the  faith  of  the  whole  nation  of  the  Jews, 
accredited  by  the  like  faith  of  the  whole  body  of  Christians  as  to 
the  books  deemed  sacred,  and  more  especially  when  accompanied 
by  such  a  mass  and  amount  of  evidence  as  can  be  educed  from 
the  scriptures  themselves — should  not  this  have  compensated  for 
the  want  of  the  exscriptural  testimony  of  Josephus  ? 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  221 

men.  In  other  words,  these  authors  did  not  rank 
with  the  sacred  writers,  and  yet  might  rank  very 
high  as  authentic  narrators  of  the  state  and  affairs 
of  the  Jewish  people.  The  truth  is,  that  most  of 
them  have  incurred  an  undue  discredit  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  the  extravagant  pretensions  which  have 
been  made  in  their  behalf,  to  an  equal  place  with 
the  writers  of  the  Old  Testament.  But  for  this, 
they  would  have  been  more  generally  appealed 
to ;  for  the  Apocrypha  too  contain  a  great 
amount  of  exscrip tural  evidence  in  favour  of  the 
Jewish  scriptures — such  evidence  as  is  exhibited  in 
favour  of  the  Christian  scriptures,  by  Lardner,  in 
his  Credibility ;  where  he  makes  a  collection  of 
citations  and  references  to  the  New  Testament 
from  the  works  of  the  Christian  fathers,  who  stood 
in  the  same  relation  to  the  New  that  the  Apocry¬ 
phal  writers  did  to  the  Old  Testament.  It  were 
well,  if  from  these  Apocrypha,  along  with  the 
works  of  the  earliest  Jewish  authors  not  canonical,* 
there  could  be  presented  to  the  world  such  a  digest 
or  enumeration  of  testimonies  in  favour  of  the 
Hebrew  scriptures,  as  Lardner  has  made  for  the 
Christian  scriptures  from  the  writings  of  the  fathers 
as  well  as  of  the  Jews  and  Heathens.  The  com¬ 
mon  reader  will  find  it  a  confirmatory  and  profit¬ 
able  exercise,  to  read  those  Apocrypha  which  are 
w  ell  provided  with  marginal  references — whence  he 
will  be  able  to  collect  a  body  of  evidence  both  for 
the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  and  for  the  his- 

*  More  particularly  Josephus  and  Philo.  The  latter  has  ex¬ 
pressly  quoted  or  referred  to  almost  all  the  books  of  our  present 
Old  Testament,  as  authoritative  scriptures— -and  to  none  others. 


222 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


lory  contained  in  them.*  Ere  we  conclude  this 
brief  notice  of  the  exscriptural  evidence  for  the 
Old  Testament,  we  would  advise  those  readers 
who  might  wish  to  attain  a  complete  view  of  this 
department,  to  make  themselves  acquainted  with 
the  express  written  testimonies  of  the  Christian 
fathers— who,  in  innumerable  instances,  depone  to 
the  canonical  authority  of  separate  books;  and 
sometimes  present  us  with  catalogues  of  the 
whole.  Of  these,  one  of  the  most  full  and  distinct 
is  the  catalogue  by  Melito,  bishop  of  Sardis,  who 


*  Were  a  Lardnerian  collection  made  from  the  Apocrypha  in 
favour  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  following  articles  would  find  a 
place  in  it  among  many  others  of  the  same  character : _ 

2  Esdras,  c.  i.  39,  40,  “  Unto  whom  I  will  give  for  leaders, 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  Oseas,  Amos,  and  Micheas,  Joel, 
Abdias,  and  Jonas,  Nahum,  and  Abacuc,  Sophonias,  Aggeus, 
Zachary,  and  Malachy,  which  is  called  also  an  angel  of  the  Lord/' 
The  twelve  last  named,  associated  with  the  three  ancestral  pa- 
tiiaichs  of  the  Jewish  people  include  all  the  minor  prophets, 
whose  books  were  bound  up  in  one  volume.  It  is  difficult  to 
imagine  that  the  author  of  Esdras  should  have  derived  these 
names  from  any  other  quarter  than  from  this  volume,  or  that  his 
collection  should  have  quadrated  so  accurately  with  the  biblical 
one,  but  on  the  hypothesis  of  its  anterior  and  separate  existence 
7  confirming  therefore  our  other  evidence  for  the  ancient  ex¬ 
istence  o(  these  books — while,  associated  as  these  authors  are 
with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  it  proves  at  least  the  degree  of 
veneration  in  which  they  were  held  by  the  author  of  this  Apo¬ 
cryphal  writing. 

1  obit  ii.  6.  “Remembering  that  prophecy  of  Amos,  as  he 
said,  ‘  V  our  feasts  shall  be  turned  into  mourning,  and  all  your 
mirth  into  lamentation.’  ” — An  express  quotation  from  Amos 
viii.  10.  And  like  quotations  may  be  had  from  the  Apocrypha, 
of  Jeremiah,  Malachi,  Joshua,  Judges,  Samuel— besides  a  large 
body  of  evidence  scarcely  less  effective  for  most  of  the  other  books 
of  the  Old  Testament. 

We  may  add,  that  most  invaluable  confirmations  are  to  be 
found  in  the  book  of  Ecclesiasticus — off  which  I  shall  only  in¬ 
stance  the  attestations  of  its  author,  in  favour  of  Ezekiel  and 
JSehemiah.  Eccles.  c.  xlix. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  223 

flourished  a  little  after  the  middle  of  the  second 
century.  He  travelled  into  Palestine  on  purpose  to 
learn  the  number  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment.  Eusebius  says  of  his  catalogue  that  it  con¬ 
tains  those  scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  which 
are  universally  acknowledged.  The  only  differ¬ 
ence  in  it  from  our  present  Old  Testament,  is  that 
he  does  not  mention  the  book  of  Esther.  I  he 
difference,  however,  it  is  probable,  is  only  ap¬ 
parent.  The  likelihood  is  that  Esther  was  ap¬ 
pended  to  some  other  book,  as  Ruth  was  to  the 
book  of  Judges  ;  and  that  neither  could  be  named 
therefore  in  those  catalogues  which  observed  that 
particular  kind  of  distinction.  At  all  events,  the 
book  of  Esther  has  abundance  of  other  evidence  to 
rest  upon. 

4.  But  without  dwelling  any  further  on  the  ex- 
scriptural  evidence  which  there  is  for  the  canon  of 
the  Old  Testament,  let  us  now  attend  to  the  evi¬ 
dence  which  might  be  found  on  this  subject,  in 
both  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New — which, 
instead  of  scripture>speaking  for  itself,  is  one  part 
of  scripture  composed  perhaps  by  a  different 
author  and  in  a  different  age  speaking  for  another 
part  of  it.  We  behold  a  succession  of  authors  in 
the  Old  Testament,  and  a  large  contemporaneous 
group  of  authors  in  the  New ;  and  who,  on  every 
principle  by  which  we  estimate  the  credit  and  the 
confidence  due  to  written  testimonies,  is  each  of 
them  ten-fold  more  valuable,  than  if,  instead  of 
being  ranked  as  a  sacred,  he  bad  been  ranked  as 
an  Apocryphal  or  profane  writer.  The  circum¬ 
stance  of  his  being  reckoned  worthy  of  such  a  dis- 


224 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


tinction  in  ancient  times,  is  the  very  reason  why 
in  modern  times  we  should  place  all  the  firmer 
reliance  on  him.  The  Bible  is  not  one  book,  but 
an  aggregate  of  many ;  and  if,  viewing  it  as  such, 
we  were  to  compute  aright  the  force  of  that  argu¬ 
ment  which  lies  in  the  concurrence  of  distinct  and 
independent  witnesses— we  should  find, ’  not  only 
for  the  facts  of  scripture  history,  but  for  the  de¬ 
ference  and  respect  in  which  the  various  writers 
particularly  of  the  Oid  Testament  were  held,  a 
stronger  chain  of  testimony,  and  on  the  whole,  a 
brighter  galaxy  of  light  and  evidence,  than  can  be 
exhibited  in  any  collection  or  credibility  which 
might  be  framed  of' 'the  best  extracts  from  all  other 
authors. 

5.  But  before  considering  in  detail,  the  scrip¬ 
tural  evidence  for  each  particular  book  of  the  Old 
Testament — there  is  a  certain  general  evidence,  of 
this  very  species  too,  that  is  applicable  to  them 
all  ;  and  which  attaches  to  these  Hebrew  writings 
such  proofs  of  genuineness  and  authority,  as  are 
quite  unexampled  of  any  other  documents  that 
have  been  transmitted  to  us  from  ancient  times. 

6.  First — there  can  be  no  doubt  in  respect  to 
the  Jewish  nation,  that  one  of  their  most  resolute 
and  characteristic  principles,  in  every  family  where 
principle  had  the  ascendancy,  was  a  respect  for 
their  law;  and,  by  consequence,  for  the  books 
which  contained  that  law,  as  well  as  for  all  other 
books  received  by  their  nation  as  of  divine  autho¬ 
rity.  We  cannot  imagine  a  greater  security  for 
the  faithful  transmission  of  these  books,  than  the 
obligation  under  which  every  conscientious  Hebrew 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  225 

felt  bimwtf  to  lie,  of  diligently  instructing  his 
childien  both  m  the  observances  and  history  of  his 
own  people.  For  this  being  the  general  habit  of 
the  well-principled  among  them,  we  have  the 
concurrent  evidence  of  many  different  writers,  not 
the  less  distinct  from,  and  therefore  not  the  less 
corroborative  of  each  other,  that  they  happen  to 
be  placed  side  by  side  within  the  limits  of  one 
volume.  They  were  placed  there,  because  of  the 
respect  held  for  them  in  former  ages ;  and  they 
should  not  therefore  suffer  on  this  account,  in  the 
estimation  of  later  ages.  Even  so  early  as  the 
days  of  Abraham,  the  father  and  prototype  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  we  find  this  religious  training  of  his 
own  family  singled  out  as  the  habit  that  most  re- 
commended  him  to  the  favour  of  God.  “  For  I 
know  him  that  he  will  command  his  children,  and 
bis  household  after  him,  and  they  shall  keep  the 
way  of  the  Lord,  to  do  justice  and  judgment;  that 
the  Lord  may  bring  upon  Abraham  that  which  he 
hath  spoken  of  him.”*  It  is  solemnly  enjoined  that 
the  words  of  God,  not  as  handed  from  one  to 
another  by  oral  tradition,  but  as  committed  to 
writing  and  so  forming  the  words  of  the  book  of  a 
aw,f  should  be  taught  by  parents  to  their  fami- 
ies.  And  these  words,  which  I  command  thee 
this  day,  shall  be  in  thine  heart.  And  thou  shalt 
teach  them  diligently  unto  thy  children,  and  shalt 
talk  of  them  when  thou  sittest  in  thy  house  and 
when  thou  walkest  by  the  way,  and  when  ’ thou 
best  down,  and  when  thou  risest  up.  And  thou 


#  Gen. 


xvin.  19. 


f  Deut.  xxviii.  61  ;  xxix.  21  ;  xxxi.  26. 
K  2 


226  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

shalt  bind  them  for  a  sign  upon  thine  hand,  and 
they  shall  be  as  frontlets  between  thine  eyes.  And 
thou  shalt  write  them  upon  the  posts  of  thy  house, 
and  on  thy  gates.”*  “  And  he  said  unto  them, 
Set  your  hearts  unto  all  the  words  which  I  testify 
among  you  this  day,  which  ye  shall  command  your 
children  to  observe  to  do,  all  the  words  of  this 
law.”f  This  habit  of  transmission  from  father  to 
son  was  not  confined  to  the  statutes  and  books  of 
the  nation ;  but  it  extended  to  their  monuments, 
and  the  remarkable  passages  of  their  history. 
The  stones  of  Gilgal  may  be  quoted  as  a  distinct 
example  of  this.  6 *  And  he  spake  unto  the  chil¬ 

dren  of  Israel,  saying,  When  your  children  shall 
ask  their  fathers  in  time  to  come,  saying,  What 
mean  these  stones?  Then  ye  shall  let  your  chil¬ 
dren  know,  saying,  Israel  came  over  this  Jordan 
on  dry  land.”J  “  As  for  me  and  my  house,”  says 
Joshua,  “  we  will  serve  the  Lord.”§  The  stress 
laid  on  household  or  family  tuition  among  the 
Jews,  may  be  traced  downward  through  the  suc¬ 
ceeding  books  of  the  Old  Testament ;  and  in  pas¬ 
sages  greatly  too  frequent  for  the  exhibition  of 
them  all.  The  tremendous  destruction  that  came 
•  upon  Eli’s  house  is  represented,  in  the  first  book 
of  Samuel,  to  have  been  the  consequence  of  his 
neglect  of  this  duty.  44  And  the  Lord  said  to 
Samuel,  Behold,  I  will  do  a  thing  in  Israel,  at 
which  both  the  e$rs  of  every  one  that  heareth  it 
shall  tingle.  In  that  day  I  will  perform  against 
Eli  all  things  which  I  have  spoken  concerning  his 

*  Deut.  vi.  6 — 9.  f  Deut.  xxxii.  46 

$  Joshua  iv.  21,  22.  §“  Joshua  xxiv.  15. 


ESPECIALLY  OE  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  227 

house ;  when  I  begin,  I  will  also  make  an  end. 
For  I  have  told  him,  that  I  will  judge  his  house 
for  ever,  for  the  iniquity  which  he  knoweth ;  be¬ 
cause  his  sons  made  themselves  vile,  and  he  re¬ 
strained  them  not.  And  therefore  I  have  sworn 
unto  the  house  of  Eli,  that  the  iniquity  of  Eli’s 
house  shall  not  be  purged  with  sacrifice  nor  offer¬ 
ing  for  ever.”*  In  short,  we  may  notice  through¬ 
out  the  Old  Testament  every  where,  the  indications 
of  that  parental  tuition  in  the  knowledge  of  their 
national  religion,  which  seems  to  have  been  quite 
a  habit  and  a  principle  among  the  Jews.  That 
“  which  we  have  heard  and  known,  and  our  fathers 
have  told  us,  we  will  not  hide  from  their  children, 
shewing  to  the  generation  to  come  the  praises  o* 
the  Lord,  and  his  strength,  and  his  wonderful 
works  that  he  hath  done.  For  he  established  a 
testimony  in  Jacob,  and  appointed  a  law  in  Israel, 
which  he  commanded  our  fathers,  that  they  should 
make  them  known  to  their  children ;  that  the  gene¬ 
ration  to  come  might  know  them,  even  the  children 
which  should  be  born,  who  should  arise  and  de¬ 
clare  them  to  their  children.”!  There  was  thus 
what  might  be  termed  a  general  family  habit 
among  the  Jews,  which  made  them  all  the  more 
effectual  keepers  of  the  divine  oracles — this  being 
one  great  purpose  of  their  selection  by  God  as  His 
peculiar  people.  It  formed  a  great  security,  not 

*  1  Samuel  iii.  11 — 14. 

f  Psalm  lxxviii.  3 — 6.  See  further  in  confirmation  of  this 
argument — Exod.  xii.  26,  27.  Deut.  iv.  10;  v.  29;  xii.  28; 
xxix.  29  ;  xxx.  2  ;  xxxi.  13.  Josh.  iv.  6 ;  xxii.  24 — 28. 
1  Kings  ii.  4;  viii.  25;  ix.  6.  Psalm  lxxxix.  30;  cxv.  14; 
cxxxii.  12.  Prov.  xxii.  6  ;  xxix.  15.  Joel  i.  3. 


228  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

for  the  diffusion  alone  through  the  innumerable 
and  unseen  privacies  of  domestic  life,  but  along 
with  this  for  the  certain  preservation  of  their 
sacred  writings-^no  decree  of  extermination,  by 
the  fiercest  persecutors,  being  able  to  reach  all 
the  copies  of  a  work  so  spread  and  multiplied, 
both  within  Judea  and  beyond  the  confines  of  it. 
It  is  true,  there  were  seasons  of  general  defec¬ 
tion;  but,  in  many  instances,  the  books  would 
remain  in  families,  while  the  families  themselves 
had  fallen  away  from  the  worship  and  observation 
of  their  forefathers.  And  .besides,  there  never 
was  a  universal  defection.  There  were  no  less 
than  seven  thousand  true  worshippers,  at  the  time 
when  Elijah  thought  that  he  stood  alone  in  his 
adherence  to  the  ancient  faith ;  and  to  them  their 
scriptures  would  be  all  the  dearer,  as  the  choicest 
relicts  which  remained  to  them  of  the  religion 
they  loved— treasures  not  the  less  precious  in  their 
eyes,  if,  as  in  the  days  of  cruel  Antiochus,  they 
were  hidden  treasures,  because  it  was  death  to  be 
found  in  the  possession  of  them.  Even  then, 
when  the  book  had  so  far  disappeared  from  the 
Jewish  court  as  to  be  there  unknown — insomuch 
that  to  have  found  a  single  copy  of  it  in  the  days 
of  Josiah  was  tantamount  to  a  discovery* — even 
then,  it  must,  though  lurking  in  privacy,  have 
existed  in  great  numbers  among  the  recesses  of 
J ewish  society :  And  this  forms  our  first  general 
argument  for  the  Hebrew  scriptures  which  were 
acknowledged  as  such  in  the  days  of  our  Saviour, 


*  2  Kings  xxii.  8. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  229 

being  the  identical  scriptures  that  had  been  ac¬ 
knowledged  all  along,  throughout  the  successive 
generations  of  the  children  of  Israel. 

•  7.  But  again,  never  was  such  an  apparatus  in¬ 

stituted  in  any  nation  for  the  maintenance  of  a 
religious  polity,  as  among  the  Jews.  A  whole 
tribe  was  set  apart  for  things  sacred ;  and  we  may 
be  assured,  that  a  principal  care,  would  be  those 
sacred  writings  of  which  they  were  the  special 
depositaries  and  guardians.  Never  did  there  exist 
such  a  number  of  professional  men,  whose  appro¬ 
priate  business  it  was  to  watch  over  the  books  of 
their  faith — such  an  agency  for  their  transcription, 
so  as  to  multiply  their  copies,  whether  for  selling 
them  out  or  for  teaching  them  to  the  people.  In 
like  manner,  as  each  father  was  the  constituted 
instructor  of  his  own  family — so  were  their  priests 
and  Levites,  everywhere,  who  acted  the  part  of 
instructors  to  the  population  at  large.  And 
accordingly,  we  read  of  this  as  their  peculiar  em¬ 
ployment,  in  those  days  of  reform  and  restoration — 
when,  after  the  suspension  of  these  their  ordinary 
engagements,  they  were  again  set  to  their  accus¬ 
tomed  work — marking  what  the  established  habit 
was,  in  good  and  peaceful  and  prosperous  times. 
In  the  days  of  Jehoshaphat,  we  are  told,  that  44  he 
sent  Levites  and  priests ;  and  they  taught  in 
Judah,  and  had  the  book  of  the  law  of  the  Lord 
with  them,  and  went  about  throughout  all  the 
cities  of  Judah,  and  taught  the  people.”*  We 
read  of  a  similar  great  reform  in  the  time  of  good 


2  Chron.  xvii.  8,  9. 


230 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


king  Hezekiah  ;*  and  also  of  Josiah,  who,  after 
having  made  discovery  in  the  temple  of  the  book 
of  the  law,  took  care  that  its  contents  should  be 
made  known  to  the  people.  “  And  the  king  went 
up  into  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  all  the  men  of 
Judah,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  the 
priests,  and  the  Levites,  and  all  the  people,  great 
and  small ;  and  he  read  in  their  ears  all  the  words 
of  the  book  of  the  covenant  that  was  found  in  the 
house^of  the  Lord  And  the  like  was  done  by 
Lzra  bn  the  return  of  the  people  from  the  Baby¬ 
lonish  captivity,  who,  from  a  pulpit  of  wood,  read 
the  book  ot  the  law  of  Moses  to  a  large  assembly 
of  men  and  women;  and  appointed  priests  and 
Levites  who  might  cause  the  people  to  understand 
the  law  .and  “  so  they  read  in  the  book,  in  the 
law  of  God,  distinctly,  and  gave  the  sense,  and 
caused  them  to  understand  the  reading.”!  \ye 
might  well  imagine  that  with  so  large  an  ecclesias¬ 
tical  body,  there  must  have  existed  an  immense 
number  of  safe  and  authentic  repositories  for  the 
sacred  writings;  and,  though  it  is  only  of  one 
such  repository  that  we  are  distinctly  told  in 
scripture,  yet  the  intelligent  reader  will  not  fail  to 
perceive,  by  the  history  of  that  single  instance, 
how  perfect  a  security  we  have  for  the  incorrupt 


I  ?,9hro.":  **■*—**«•  f  2  Cliron.  xxxiv.  SO. 

I  Neh.  vm.  8.  It  has  been  well  observed  on  this  passage  thnf 
it  clearly  proves  of  the  Israelites,  that  they  must  Cve?  ha/copfes 
of  their  sacred  writings  during  as  well  as  subsequent  to  the  Jewish 
captivity— -seeing  that  when  the  people  requested  Ezra  to  pro 
ducethe  law  of  Moses,  they  did  not  entreat  him  to  get  it  d  e' 
fated  anew  to  them  (Neh.  viii.  1)  ;  but  that  he  would  bring  forth 

W  °f  bm  °f  M°‘a  whkh  ,h '  L°'d  **  co ZS 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  231 

transmission  of  the  Old  Testament,  from  the  time 
of  its  original  composition  to  the  days  of  our 
Saviour.  We  mean  the  deposition  of  the  book  of 
the  law  of  Moses  in  or  beside  the  ark  of  the  testi¬ 
mony.*  “  And  Moses  wrote  this  law,  and  de¬ 
livered  it  unto  the  priests  the  sons  of  Levi,  which 
bare  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord,  and 
unto  all  the  elders  of  Israel.  And  Moses  com¬ 
manded  them  saying,  At  the  end  of  every  seven 
years,  in  the  solemnity  of  the  year  of  release,  in 
the  feast  of  tabernacles,  when  all  Israel  is  come  to 
appear  before  the  Lord  thy  God  in  the  place 
which  he  shall  choose,  thou  shalt  read  this  law 
before  all  Israel  in  their  hearing.  Gather  thy 
people  together,  men,  and  women,  and  children, 
and  the  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates,  that  they 
may  hear,  and  that  they  may  learn  and  fear  the 
Lord  your  God,  and  observe  to  do  all  the  words 
of  this  law  ;  and  that  their  children,  which  have 
not  known  any  thing,  may  hear,  and  learn  to  fear 
the  Lord  your  God,  as  long  as  ye  live  in  the  land 
whither  ye  go  over  Jordan  to  possess  it.  ii  And 
it  came  to  pass  when  Moses  had  made  an  end  of 
writing  the  words  of  this  law  in  a  book,  until  they 
were  finished,  that  Moses  commanded  the  Levites, 
which  bare  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord, 
saying,  Take  this  book  of  the  law,  and  put  it  in 
the  side  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord 

•  It  has  been  much  disputed,  both  among  Jewish  doctors  and 
Christian  fathers,  whether  the  book  was  deposited  inside  or  out¬ 
side  the  ark — and  whether  in  a  chest  close  to  the  ark  of  the  cove¬ 
nant,  or  in  a  little  cell  annexed  to  it.  Our  own  inclination  is  for 
assigning  it  an  exterior  place,  within  the  Holy  of  Holies,  but 
without  the  ark  of  the  covenant. 


232 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

your  God,  that  it  may  be  there  for  a  witness 
against  thee.”*  These  passages  are  of  immense 
value,  as  demonstrative  of  the  care  taken  for  the 
diffusion  of  religious  knowledge  among  the  people ; 
and  the  latter  particularly  so,  as  affording  a  most 
signal  demonstration  of  the  safe  keeping  of  their 
sacred  records.  For  there  is  great  reason  to  be¬ 
lieve,  that,,  after  the  book  of  the  law  of  Moses  was 
deposited  m  the  ark,  copies  of  all  the  other  can¬ 
onical  writings,  when  once  their  authority  was 
established,  were  nlaced  there  along  writh  it.  Cer¬ 
tain  it  is,  that,  over  and  above  the  Pentateuch,  we 
read  of  words  written  by  Joshua, f  in  the  book  of 
the  law  of  God ;  and  which  would  therefore,  in 
all  probability,  have  the  same  high  place  of  me¬ 
morial  assigned  to  it— and,  more  especially,  as  they 
were  the  words  of  a  solemn  and  enduring  covenant 
between  God  and  the  people.  It  is  true  that 
when  the  temple  was  destroyed  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
all  the  autographs  that  had  been  deposited  there 
were  most  probably  destroyed  along  with  it.  But 
there  is  every  likelihood  that,  when  the  temple 
was  rebuilt,  and  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament 

v  as  established  by  Ezra  and  his  colleagues _ an  ark 

was  constructed  for  the  reception  of  a  copy  of  it, 
and  placed  in  the  Holy  of  Holies.  It  forms  a 
strong  confirmation  of  this,  that,  in  the  triumph  of 

*  Deut.  xxxi.  9 — 13,  24 — 26.  We  would  further  direct  th. 
attention  of  the  reader  to  2  Chron.  v.  4,  5,  where  is  recorded 
the  transference  of  the  ark  and  of  all  the  holy  vessels  to  the 
temple.  We  cannot  doubt  that  on  that  solemn  occasion  when 
the  tabernacle  and  all  that  was  in  it  was  brought  up,  the  book  of 
the  law  wrould  be  similarly  deposited  as  before, 
t  Josh.  xxiv.  26. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  233 

Titus  at  Rome,  of  which  Josephus  was  both  the 
historian  and  the  eye-witness,  the  Book  of  the 
Law  was  carried  in  procession  along  with  the 
other  spoils  of  the  temple.  “  But  for  those  that 
were  taken  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  they  made 
the  greatest  figure  of  them  all ;  that  is  the  golden 
table,  of  the  weight  of  many  talents ;  the  candle¬ 
stick  also,  that  was  made  of  gold,  though  its  con¬ 
struction  were  now  changed  from  that  which  we 
made  use  of:  for  its  middle  shaft  was  fixed  upon  a 
basis,  and  the  small  branches  were  produced  out 
of  it  to  a  great  length,  having  the  likeness  of  a 
trident  in  their  position,  and  had  every  one  a  socket 
made  of  brass  for  a  lamp  at  the  tops  of  them. 
These  lamps  were  in  number  seven,  and  repre¬ 
sented  the  dignity  of  the  number  seven  among  the 
Jews  ;  and  the  last  of  all  the  spoils,  was  carried  the 
law  of  the  Jews This  book  of  the  law,  Jose 
phus  informs  us,  was  not  deposited  in  the  temple 
which  Vespasian  built  to  Peace,  along  with  the 
golden  vessels  and  instruments  that  were  taken 
out  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem.  This  book,  along 
with  the  purple  veils  of  the  holy  place,  the  emperor 
reserved  for  himself,  and  kept  in  his  own  royal 
palace.  And  accordingly,  it  is  a  very  general  faith 
among  learned  men,  that  an  authentic  copy  of  all 
the  canonical  and  authorized  scriptures,  was  placed 
as  they  were  successively  written,  in  the  sanctuary ; 
and  which  copy  could  be  appealed  to,  if  indeed 
there  ever  was  occasion  for  it,  in  every  question  of 
doubtful  or  different  readings — and  that  thus,  a  pal- 


#  Josephus,  Jewish  War,  Book  VII,  chap.  V.  §  5. 


234 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


pable  distinction  was  kept  up  between  the  sacred 
and  the  apocryphal  writings.  Epiphanius  says  of 
the  Apocrypha,  that,  “though  useful  and  profitable, 
they  were  not  taken  in  among  the  scriptures. 
And  therefore,  they  were  not  placed  in  the  ark  of 
the  covenant Damascenus  also  testifies  of  the 
apocryphal  writings,  that,  “however  good  and  beau¬ 
tiful,  they  were  not  ranked  with  the  canonical 
writings,  and  not  deposited  in  the  ark ,”f  So  that, 
though  offered  by  their  authors  to  the  church,  they 
were  not  thought  worthy  of  a  place  beside  the 
canonical  and  authorized  writings,  and  therefore 
were  not  laid  along  with  these  in  the  ecclesiastical 
repository  or  ark.  It  is  doubtless  from  this  cir¬ 
cumstance  that  the  fathers  termed  the  canonical 
writings  svhiocferoi — because  they  understood,  that, 
when  admitted  into  the  canon,  they  were  at  the 
same  time  admitted  into  the  sanctuary,  and  placed 
by  the  ark  of  the  covenant ;  whereas,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  a,7rozgv<poi  may  have  received  their  name, 
because  they  were  restrained  uytGigzgvTTifg, 

from  that  holy  crypt ,  that  sacred  repository,  in 
which  the  canonical  writings  were  preserved. 
This  then  is  thought  to  have  been  the  practice, 
both  before  and  after  the  Jewish  captivity;  and  it 
does  seem  a  very  formal  and  distinct  acquittal  of 
the  trust  which  had  been  laid  on  that  people,  to 
whom,  in  the  language  of  Paul,  “  had  been  com¬ 
mitted  the  oracles  of  God.”  Irrespective,  however, 
of  the  evidence  that  exists  for  this  especial  obser- 

*  Hv  TJJ  rns  ^UX0*1XVI(  Xl(bu>TM. 

f  E vccgtroi  jity  icm  xctkat.  aXX*  tux  u^iQftouvrcii  ou$t  ixutrt  1 9  Tf 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  235 

vance — it  is  obvious,  that  both  in  the  general  habit 
of  Jewish  families,  and  in  the  institution  of  so  nu¬ 
merous  and  well-appointed  a  body  of  ecclesiastics, 
there  did  obtain  among  the  Jews,  the  most  ample 
and  efficient  means  for  the  fulfilment  of  this  great 
purpose.  The  likelihood,  at  the  same  time,  of 
this  method  of  custody  and  preservation,  is,  we 
think,  well  made  out,  both  by  the  quotations  from 
scripture,  and  the  other  testimonies  which  we  have 
now  exhibited ;  and  receives  moreover  a  certain 
confirmation,  from  the  practice  in  Jewish  syna¬ 
gogues  at  this  day — where  a  copy  of  the  law  is 
still  deposited  in  a  sacred  receptacle,  called  by 
Tertullian  Judaicum  armarium ,  a  little  chest  or 
press  termed  armoire  in  French,  and  thence  trans¬ 
formed  into  aumory  in  Scotland.  We  do  not 
think  the  full  and  absolute  vindication  of  this  temple 
process  indispensable  to  our  present  argument; 
and  we  are  more  disposed  to  regard  it,  as  but  one 
beautiful  and  picturesque  representation  of  it — and 
through  which,  we  are  made  to  see,  as  if  in  pic¬ 
ture,  or  to  read  as  on  a  visible  and  enduring  monu¬ 
ment,  the  safety  and  integrity  of  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  records.  The  same  process,  however,  was 
substantially  repeated,  we  have  no  doubt,  in  the 
frequent  synagogues  of  the  land — nay,  in  many 
thousands  of  private  families,  alike  zealous  of  their 
lawr  and  of  the  way  of  their  forefathers ;  and  so  as 
to  afford  a  guarantee  for  the  genuineness  and  pre¬ 
servation  of  the  Hebrew  scriptures,  of  which  there 
is  no  similar  example  in  ancient  history.  The 
Jewish  people  were  separated  from  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  for,  among  other  reasDns,  the  keeping 


235  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

and  transmission  of  the  elder  revelations  to  the 
latter  ends  of  the  world ;  and  this  one  purpose  at 
least,  of  their  marked  and  singular  economy,  has 
been  fully  accomplished  by  them. 

8.  But,  whatever  obscurity  may  be  conceived  to 
hang  over  the  methods  of  this  more  remote  and 
ancient  dispensation,  we  at  length  emerge  into  full 
assurance,  when  we  come  to  the  days  of  the  New 
Testament ;  and  gather  thence  our  third  general 
argument,  the  strongest  of  all,  we  think,  for  the 
canonicity  of  the  Old  Testament  writings.  Nothing 
can  be  more  certain  than  the  use,  the  frequent  use, 
made  by  the  Jews  from  very  early  times,  of  written 
language  as  the  vehicle  of  their  alleged  revelations. 
And  the  books  to  which  they  were  thus  committed, 
were  signalized  above  all  others  by  the  religious  esti¬ 
mation  in  which  they  were  held.  “  And  the  Lord 
said  unto  Moses,  Come  up  to  me  into  the  mount,  and 
be  there :  and  I  will  give  thee  tables  of  stone,  and  a 
law,  and  commandments  which  I  have  written;  that 
thou  mayest  teach  them.”*  “  And  he  gave  unto 
Moses,  when  he  had  made  an  end  of  communing 
with  him  upon  Mount  Sinai,  two  tables  of  testimony, 
tables  of  stone,  written  with  the  finger  of  God”f 
“  And  Moses  turned,  and  went  down  from  the 
mount,  and  the  two  tables  of  the  testimony  were  in 
his  hand:  the  tables  were  written  on  both  their  sides: 
on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other  were  they  written. 
And  the  tables  were  the  work  of  God,  and  the 
writing  was  the  writing  of  God,  graven  upon  the 
tables.”f  “  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Hew 


Exod*  xxiv.  13.  f  Ex.  xxxi.  18.  f  Ex.  xxxii.  15»  16. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  237 

thee  two  tables  of  stone  like  unto  the  first;  and  I 
will  write  upon  these  tables  the  words  that  were  in 
the  first  tables,  which  thou  brakest.”*  “  And  he 
wrote  on  the  tables,  according  to  the  first  writing, 
the  ten  commandments,  which  the  Lord  spake  unto 
you  in  the  mount  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire,  in 
the  day  of  the  assembly ;  and  the  Lord  gave  them 
unto  me.  And  I  turned  myself,  and  came  down 
from  the  mount,  and  put  the  tables  in  the  ark 
which  I  had  made  ;  and  there  they  be,  as  the  Lord 
commanded  me.”t  “  And  it  shall  be,  when  he  sit- 
teth  upon  the  throne  of  his  kingdom,  that  he  shall 
write  him  a  copy  of  this  law  in  a  book,  out  of  that 
which  is  before  the  priests  the  Levites.  And  it 
shall  be  with  him,  and  he  shall  read  therein  all 
the  days  of  his  life  “  And  it  shall  be,  on  the 
day  when  you  pass  over  Jordan  unto  the  land 
which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee,  that  thou 
shalt  set  thee  up  great  stones,  and  plaster  them 
with  plaster  :  And  thou  shalt  write  upon  them  all 
the  words  of  this  law,  when  thou  art  passed  over,” 
&c.||  These  quotations  serve  to  prove  how  early 
writing  was  resorted  to,  in  the  communications 
between  heaven  and  earth.  The  book  that  was 
“  before  the  priests  the  Levites,”  we  have  no  doubt, 
was  that  laid  up  in  the  ark  of  the- covenant,  from 
which  each  king  was  required  to  write  a  copy  ;  and 
we  cannot  imagine  a  more  effectual  device  for  the 
preservation  of  an  autograph,  and  for  the  trans¬ 
mission  of  a  book  in  its  original  integrity  to  future 
ages.  But  beside  this,  we  may  observe  in  these 

*  Ex.  xxxiv.  1.  f  Deut.  x.  4,  5.  f  Deut.  xvii.  18,  19. 

j|  Deut.  xxvii.  2,  3. 


238  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

passages,  what  the  written  revelations  were,  in  their 
earliest  and  most  rudimental  form — before  they 
were  expanded  into  books,  whether  smaller  or 
larger,  for  circulation  among  the  people.  44  Now 
therefore  write  ye  this  song  for  you,  and  teach  it 
to  the  children  of  Israel :  put  it  in  their  mouths, 
that  this  song  may  be  a  witness  for  me  against  the 
children  of  Israel.”  44  Moses  therefore  wrote  this 
song  the  same  day,  and  taught  it  the  children  of 
Israel.”*  44  Then  Samuel  told  the  people  the 
manner  of  the  kingdom,  and  wrote  it  in  a  book, 
and  laid  it  up  before  the  Lord.”|  44  Now  go,  write 
it  before  them  in  a  table,  and  note  it  in  a  book,  that 
it  may  be  for  the  time  to  come  for  ever  and 
ever.”J  44  The  word  that  came  to  Jeremiah  from 
the  Lord,  saying,  Thus  speaketh  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel,  saying,  Write  thee  all  the  words  that  I  have 
spoken  unto  thee  in  a  book  44  The  word  that 
Jeremiah  the  prophet  spake  unto  Baruch  the  son 
of  Neriah,  when  he  had  written  these  words  in  a 
book  at  the  mouth  of  Jeremiah.”§  44  So  Jeremiah 
wrote  in  a  book  all  the  evil  that  should  come  upon 
Babylon,  even  all  these  words  that  are  written 
against  Babylon.”f  44  But  thou,  O  Daniel,  shut 
up  the  words,  and  seal  the  book,  even  to  the  time 
of  the  end.”**  -These  last  quotations  exhibit  to  us 
the  origination  of  books,  or  parts  of  books,  in  the 
Old  Testament ;  and  did  we  offer,  in  addition  to 

•  Deut.  xxxi.  19,  22. 

f  1  Sam.  x.  25.  This  act  of  laying  up  what  he  had  written 
before  the  Lord,  may  be  regarded  as  another  example  of  the  depo¬ 
sition  of  the  Sacred  Writings,  in  a  sanctuary  or  consecrated  place, 
t  Is.  xxx.  8.  U  Jer.  xxx.  1,2.  §  Jer.  xlv.  1. 

IT  Jer.  li.  60.  **  Daniel  xii.  4. 


jSSPECIALLX^F  the  old  testament.  239 

this,  to  present  all  the  passages  in  which  these 
books  are  referred  to,  all  the  traces  that  might  be 
gathered  along  the  course  of  the  sacred  history  o* 
the  respect  and  estimation  in  which  they  were  held 
— it  would  swell  our  extracts  into  many  pages. 
We  shall  do  it  in  part,  when  we  investigate  the 
evidence  for  the  particular  books,  as,  in  those  very 
extracts,  there  lies  the  essence  of  what  we  hold  to 
be  far  the  most  valuable  kind  of  proof  for  the 
authority  of  the  Hebrew  scriptures.  But  it  is 
enough  at  present,  under  the  head  of  our  third 
general  argument,  to  state  of  these  books  that 
they  were  the  objects  of  frequent  and  familiar  re¬ 
cognition  by  the  Jewish  people.  Their  very 
names,  though  at  first  general,  and  such  as  were 
descriptive  of  a  whole  class,  had  at  length,  by  the 
force  of  the  definite  article  or  by  the  annexation  of 
an  epithet,  the  exclusive  speciality  of  an  appellative. 
There  are  innumerable  writings  on  all  subjects; 
but  these  were  the  writings,  and  cci  ygocpou  or  v\ 
was  appropriated  to  those  writings  which 
were  esteemed  by  the  Hebrews  as  divine :  Or,  when 
a  particular  and  express  quotation  was  made,  it  was 
under  the  form  of  “this  scripture,”  avry  ypoapr) : 
Or  they  were  distinguished  by  another  phrase, 
“  the  Sacred  Writings,”  ygccpui  hgui,  sometimes 
rcc  kga  y^oc^aToc :  Or,  lastly,  they  were  named 
“  the  oracles  of  God,”  rcc  Xoytcc  tov  Seov.  These 
names  were  as  much  restricted  to  certain  writings, 
and  there  was  as  little  possibility  of  their  being  ap¬ 
plied  to  any  other — as  “the  Bible,”*  or  the  “Scrip- 

*  Bible — originally  and  generally  a  book;  and  “the  book,” 
i  fid/HX# ,  became  the  appellative  of  our  present  scriptures. 


210  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

tures,”  or  the  Old  and  New  Testament  would  in  the 
present  day.  They  were  the  voces  signatce,  that 
marked  out  certain  books  collected  by  the  Jews  into 
a  volume  or  volumes,  and  in  universal  recognition 
among  that  people.  That  a  whole  nation  should 
make  use  of  the  same  names,  and  without  any  dif¬ 
ference  in  the  application  of  them,  proved  a  com¬ 
mon  understanding  as  to  what  the  books  were 
(and  no  others)  which  were  held  to  be  of  scriptural 
rank  amongst  them.  Now  the  strength  of  our 
third  general  argument  lies  in  this— Jthat  our 
Saviour  and  His  Apostles  joined  in  this  common 
use,  and  fel^  into  this  common  understanding. 
They  make  use  of  the  term  “scriptures,”  without  ex¬ 
planation,  as  if  there  had  to  be  the  adjustment  of 
any  difference  between  them  and  the  Jewish  peo¬ 
ple,  on  the  question  of  what  the  Scriptures  really 
w  ere.  There  was  in  truth  no  such  question  be¬ 
twixt  them.  What  the  Jewish  people  at  large 
understood  to  be  the  scriptures,  Christ  and  His 
Apostles  understood  to  be  the  scriptures.  In 
other  w  ords,  they  all  acknowledged  the  same  scrip¬ 
tures.  We  do  not  speak,  at  present,  of  the  pro¬ 
perties  ascribed  by  Christ  and  the  authors  of  the 
New  Testament,  to  these  writings  of  the  Old  Tes¬ 
tament — for  this  comes  more  rightly  under  our 
view,  w'hen  discussing  the  question  of  the  inspi¬ 
ration  of  these  books.  But  the  circumstance 
of  Christ  and  His  Apostles  having  acknowledged 
the  same  Old  Testament  with  the  Jews,  is  all 
in  all  on  the  question  of  the  canon,  and  of  the 
legitimate  place  which  each  of  the  separate 
pieces  held  in  this  received  and  authorised  col- 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  24  i 

lection  of  writings.  When  Paul  says  of  the 
Jews  that  “  to  them  were  committed  the  oracles  of 
God,”  he  had  no  different  view  of  these  oracles, 
these  Xoyia,  in  as  far  as  the  written  oracles  were 
concerned,  from  what  they  had  themselves.  And 
in  like  manner  when  in ‘speaking  to  the  Jews,  he 
.  says  of  the  Gospel,  that  God  hath  promised  it 
44  afore  by  his  prophets  in  the  holy  scriptures”* — he 
does  not  make  use  of  a  designation  that  expressed 
to  them  one  set  of  writings,  while  to  his  own  mind 
it  expressed  another  set  of  writings.  To-  us  it  is 
a  very  strong  circumstance,  that  what  they  held 
to  be  the  44  oracles  of  God,”  and  the  44  holy  scrip¬ 
tures,”  he  held  to  be  the  oracles  of  God  and  the 
holy  scriptures  also.  There  was  a  common  under¬ 
standing  between  them  on  this  point;  and  the" 
same  common  understanding  between  our  Saviour 
and  His  countrymen,  when  He  told  them,  to 
44  search  the  scriptures” — when  He  asked  them, 
44  Did  ye  never  read  in  the  scriptures?”  when  He 
thus  charged  them,  44  Ye  do  err,  not  knowing  the 
scriptures” — when  He  argued  with  them,  44  How 
then  shall  the  scriptures  be  fulfilled” — when  He 
assured  them  44but  the  scriptures  must  be  fulfilled” 
— when  He  quotes  their  sacred  volume  by  their  own 
designation,  44as  the  scripture  hath  said” — and, last¬ 
ly,  when,  making  use  of  the  same  designation,  He 
ascribes  to  it  this  property,  that-44  the  scripture 
cannot  be  broken.”f  Our  Saviour  would  never, 
in  directing  His  countrymen  to  search  the  scrip- 

•  Rom.  i.  2. 

+  Matt.  xxi.  42,  xxii.  29,  xxvi.  54.  Mark  xii.  24,  xiv.  49. 
John  v.  39,  vii.  38,  x.  35. 

VOL.  IV. 


L 


242  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

tures,  have  made  use  of  a  term,  that  had  the 
effect  of  sending ‘them  to  the  perusal  of  a  different 
set  of  works  or  writing^  from  what  He  Himself  in¬ 
tended.  But  this  would  undoubtedly  have  taken 
place,  had  He  meant  by  the  term  “scriptures,” 
any  other  collection  of  books  than  what  they  meant 
by  it.  Instead  of  which  He  made  use  of  their  own 
term,  and  gave  no  explanation — which  He  would 
have  done,  had  His  sense  of  it  been  different  from 
theirs.  But  He  knew  what  the  common  under¬ 
standing  was ;  and  on  this  He  proceeded,  for  He 
Himself  shared  in  it.  The  scriptures  of  their  esti¬ 
mation  were  the  scriptures  of  His  estimation  also. 
Or,  in  other  words,  we  have  the  authority  of  Christ 
and  His  Apostles,  for  the  received  canon  of  the 
"Old  Testament  in  their  days  being  the  true  canon. 
Nor  can  we  imagine  aught  so  resistless  in  the  way 
of  proof,  as  the  utter  absence  of  any  charge  against 
the  Jews,  on  the  part  of  the  first  teachers  of  Chris¬ 
tianity — as  if  they  had  vitiated  or  adulterated,  or 
in  any  way  mutilated  and  changed  their  own  scrip¬ 
tures.  When  the  Apostle  Paul  says,  that  t*o  them 
were  committed  the  oracles  of  God,  there#is  not 
one  whisper  of  insinuation  that  they  had  in  the 
least  corrupted,  or  been  at  all  unfaithful  in  their 
care  and  custody  of  these  writings.  But,  strongest 
of  all,  our  Saviour  never  laid  any  such  condemna¬ 
tion  upon  them.  Had  there  been  any  ground  for 
such  a  condemnation,  He,  of  all  others,  would, 
with  the  utmost  promptitude  and  power,  have 
charged 'it  home  upon  them.  It  is  true  that  they 
had’ made  void  the  commandments  of  God,  but  in 
i;nofh.?r  way  than  by  altering  or  vitiating  the  re- 


ESPECIALLY  Ti^E  OLD  TESTAMENT.  243 

cord  of  these  commandments — by  oral  tradition; 
and  he.  was  not  slow  in  charging  them  for  this  de¬ 
linquency.  We  may  be  very  sure,  that,  had  there 
been  any  practising  on  their  part  with  the  scriptures 
themselves — we  may  be  very  sure,  that  He,  who 
denounced  their  traditions,  would  have  denounced, 
as  an  offence  still  more  flagrant,  the  sacrilegious 
liberties  they  had  taken  with  the  oracles  of  God. 
Instead  of  which,  in  opposing  their  traditions,  He 
did  it  by  means  of  an  express  quotation  from  the 
v  1  itings  of  Moses — making  use  of  their  scriptures 
as  they  stood,  and  never  giving  us  the  least  inti¬ 
mation  in  the  course  of  His  public  ministry,  not¬ 
withstanding  His  frequent  allusions  and  appeals  to 
them,  that  the  true  scriptures  were  at  all  different 
fiom  the  acknowledged  and  received  scriptures. 
He  set  aside  their  traditions,  but  He  did  unquali¬ 
fied  homage  to  their  scriptures — two  things  as 
apart  from  each  other  in  the  days  of  our  Saviour 
as  they  are  now— as  distinct  and  distinguishable, 
in  fact,  as  the  Hebrew  Old  Testament  is  from  the 
Jewish  Talmud,  in  which  the  traditions  have  been 
embodied  and  have  received  a  local  habitation  and 
a  name.  Had  the  Jewish  scriptures,  in  our 
Saviour  s  days,  been  mutilated  ‘by  erasures,  or 
vitiated  by  admixtures,  or  right  books  been ’dis¬ 
placed,  or  wrong  books  inserted  in  their  room— 
our  Saviour  would  have  told  us  so— or,  in  other 
words,  had  there  been  a  false  canon  in  these  days, 
He  would  have  stated  anew  for  our  information 
the  true  canon  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  infor¬ 
mation  given  by  the  Jews  themselves  in  regard  to 
the  genuineness  of  their  scriptures,  thus  acquiesced 


244 


ON  THE  Canon  of  sceiftuke, 

m  and  thus  deferred  to  by  the  Author  of  Christi¬ 
anity,  we  receive  as  at  the  mouth  of  the  Saviour. 
The  Jews  and  Christians  separated  from  each 
other,  with  the  very  same  list  however  of  Old 
Testament  scriptures ;  and  these,  laying  aside  the 
great  Popish  adulteration  and  a  few  minor  ones, 
remain  unchanged  with  each  of  the  parties  to  the 
present  day.  We  cannot  imagine  a  more  secure 
basis  for  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament,  than 
the  authentication  of  that  very  list  by  Christ  and 
His  Apostles— thus  giving  the  benefit  of  all  the 
evidence  for  the  new,  to  the  scriptures  of  the  elder 
dispensation. 

9.  We  shall  now  enter,  in  detail,  on  the  scrip¬ 
tural  evidence  for  each  of  the  particular  books  of 
the  Old  Testament ;  but,  before  doing  so,  let  us 
advert  to  certain  larger  divisions  into  which  they 
were  grouped  by  the  Hebrews  j  and  the  traces  of 
which  are  to  be  found  in  the  Bible  itself.  There 
was  the  book  of  their  law,  consisting  of  our  Penta¬ 
teuch,  or  five  books  of  Moses,  and  originally 
written  in  one  volume.  There  was  the  book  of 
the  prophets,  which  yet  comprehended  certain  of 
the  historical,  and  excluded  certain  of  the  pro¬ 
phetical  writings.  There  was  lastly  the  book  of 
the  Hagiographa  or  Holy  writings,  the  inspiration 
of  which  was  not  doubted  by  the  Jews  as  to  its 
reality,  but  which  were  distinguished  from  the 
former  in  their  reckoning  by  the  mode  of  the  in¬ 
spiration.  Moses  the  author  of  the  first  class  of 
these  books  was  universally  held  to  be  the  most 
illustrious  of  all  their  sacred  writers,  being  the 
only  one  admitted  to  direct  and  personal  converse 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  245 

with  God.*  The  authors  of  the  second  class  were 
conceived  to  have  had  their  communications  made 
to  them  by  dreams  and  visions,  or  even  by  a  voice. 
The  authors  of  the  third  class  were  regarded  too 
as  divinely  inspired  men,  only  that  instead  of 
being  honoured  by  any  sensible  manifestations  of 
the  Divinity,  they  wrote  under  the  impulse  of  a 
silent  and  authoritative  guidance  on  their  own 
minds.  They  were  besides  conceived  to  have  no 
public  mission  as  prophets,  and  so  neither  were 
their  works  though  inspired  read  publicly.  The 
circumstance  of  the  book  of  Daniel  being  ranked 
among  the  Hagiographa,  is  ascribed  to  the  power 
of  evidence  which  lies  in  it  for  the  truth  of  Chris¬ 
tianity,  and  to  the  consequent  apprehension  lest  if 
read  in  their  synagogues,  they  might  lead  any  to 
embrace  this  religion.  This  distinction  might  ap¬ 
pear  to  degrade  certain  of  the  writers  of  the  Old 
Testament  beneath  the  rank  of  infallible  teachers 
from  Heaven ;  but  it  will  be  found  not  to  affect 
the  reality  of  their  inspiration,  only  the  mode  of  it 
—and  even  for  this  there  seems  to  have  been  no 
solid  ground— the  reasons  alleged  for  it  by  the 
learned  among  the  Jews  being  of  a  very  fanciful 
or  legendary  character.  One  great  benefit  of  the 
scriptural  evidence  that  we  shall  allege  for  each 
of  the  several  books  is,  that  it  must  restore  the 
confidence  which  this  distinction  might  have  other¬ 
wise  impaired — as  it  will  occasionally  be  found, 
that  there  is  a  greater  weight  and  splendour  of 
this  evidence  for  certain  of  the  books  which  have 

•  Numb.  xii.  6 — 6. 


I 


246  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

been  placed  in  the  lowest  class,  than  for  many  of 
those  which  have  had  a  higher  rank  and  prece¬ 
dency  assigned  to  them.  Whatever  authority 
may  be  attached  to  the  opinion  of  the  Jews,  re¬ 
specting  the  methods  and  degrees  of  inspiration 
which  obtained  among  the  writers  of  the  Old 
Testament — there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  three¬ 
fold  distribution,  as  if  into  three  volumes,  that  was 
made  of  them.  It  is  recognized  in  the  scriptures 
themselves ;  and  we  should  lose  a  certain  portion 
of  the  evidence  that  we  are  now  in  quest  of,  if 
we  omitted  the  testimonies  given,  not  separately 
to  the  individual  books,  but  aggregately  to  one  or 
other  of  these  larger  collections.  We  shall  find 
traces  at  least  for  the  book  of  the  law  as  one 
separate  book,  consisting  of  the  five  books  of 
Moses,  but  isolated  from  all  other  scripture,  even 
in  the  Old  Testament ;  and  in  the  New  we  have 
abundant  evidence  both  for  it  and  for  the  other 
two  besides.  “  Think  not  that  I  am  come  ta  de¬ 
stroy  the  law  or  the  prophets.”*  “  For  all  the 
prophets  and  the  law  prophesied  until  John.”f 
“  On  these  two  commandments  hang  all  the  law 
and  the  prophets.” t  “And  David  himself  say- 
eth  in  the  book  of  Psalms.”  §  “And  he  said  to 
him  these  are  the  words  which  I  spake  to  you, 
while  I  was  yet  with  you,  that  all  things  must  be 
fulfilled  which  were  written  in  the  law  of  Moses, 
and  in  the  prophets,  and  in  the  Psalms  concern¬ 
ing  me.” II  “For  it  is  written  in  the  book  of 
Psalms,  let  his  habitation  be  desolate,”**  &c. 

*  Matt.  r.  17.  f  Matt.  xi.  13.  %  Matt.  xxii.  40. 

§  Luke  xx.  42.  |]  Luke  xxiv.  44.  **  Acts  i.  20. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  247 

“  Having  therefore  obtained  help  of  God,  I  con¬ 
tinue  to  this  day  witnessing  both  to  small  and 
great,  saying  none  other  things  than  those  which 
the  prophets  and  Moses  did  say  should  come.”* 
“  And  when  he  had  appointed  them  a  day,  there 
came  many  to  him  in  his  lodging;  to  whom  he 
expounded  and  testified  the  kingdom  of  God,  per¬ 
suading  them  concerning  Jesus  both  out  of  the 
law  of  Moses,  and  out  of  the  prophets,  from 
morning  till  evening.”!  “  But  now  the  righteous¬ 
ness  of  God  without  the  law  is  manifested,  being 
witnessed  by  the  law  and  the  prophets.”!  “But 
even  unto  this  day  when  Moses  is  read,  the  vail  is 
upon  their  heart.”  II  That  the  book  of  the  law 
was  not  confined  to  the  legal  part  of  the  Penta¬ 
teuch,  is  evident  from  its  being  appealed  to  for  the 
historical  facts  of  the  narrative,  as  in  Gal.  iv.  21 
— 26,  where  the  story  of  Hagar  and  her  son  is 
ushered  in  by  a  challenge  on  those  who  are  of  the 
law  to  hear  the  law.  And  there  is  even  reason  to 
believe  that  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament  was 
at  times  designated  as  “  the  Law”  or  “  Book  of  the 
Law.”  The  quotation  in  John  x.  34,  seems  to 
have  been  taken  from  the  Psalms,  and  yet  is  said 
to  be  taken  from  the  “  Law.”  The  people  in 
John  xii.  34  allege  their  having  heard  out  of  the 
law,  that  which  must  have  been  read  or  told  to 
them  out  of  the  Psalms.  And  our  Saviour  in 
John  xv.  25,  makes  a  quotation  from  the  Psalms 
as  from  the  law.  The  truth  is,  that  the  names 

•  Acts  xxvi.  22.  f  Acts  xxviii.  23.  !  Rom.  iii.  21. 

!'  2  Cot-,  iii.  !5. 


248 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


properly  and  primitively  annexed  to  one  portion  of 
the  Jewish  scriptures  was  at  length  extended  to 
the  whole — as  being  all  of  the  same  complete  and 
rightful  authority  over  the  faith  and  consciences  of 
men.* 

10.  Still  however  the  Pentateuch  is  often 
singled  out  from  the  other  scriptures,  by  its  origi¬ 
nal  and  appropriate  designation  of  the  Book  of  the 
Law.  So  that,  beside  the  scriptural  evidence  for 
the  individual  books  of  the  Pentateuch,  there  is 
much  of  that  evidence  to  be  found  in  the  general 
references  made  to  the  Pentateuch  on  the  whole, 
under  the  title  of  the  Law  or  Book  of  the  Law. 
But  of  the  many  citations  which  might  be  pro¬ 
duced,  a  very  few  must  suffice.  <£  Observe  to  do 
according  to  all  the  law,  which  Moses  my  servant 
commanded  thee.”  <s  This  book  of  the  law 
shall  not  depart  out  of  thy  mouth.”f-  “  As  Moses 
the  servant  of  the  Lord  commanded  the  children 
of  Israel,  as  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  of 
Moses.”t  “  And  keep  the  charge  of  the  Lord 
thy  God,  to  walk  in  his  ways,  to  keep  his  statutes 
and  his  commandments  and  his  judgments  and  his 
testimonies,  as  it  is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses.” II 
“  But  the  children  of  the  murderers  he  slew  not : 
according  unto  that  which  is  written  in  the  book 
of  the  law  of  Moses,  wherein  the  Lord  commanded 

*  There  are  besides  quotations  in  the  New  Testament  as  from 
the  law,  of  words  only  to  be  found  in  the  prophets — so  that  their 
whole  Bible  must  have  often  been  designated  the  “  Book  of  the 
Law,*'  and  hence  the  strong  probability  that  the  book  taken  from 
the  temple  and  carried  at  the  Roman  triumph,  though  termed  by 
Josephus  the  book  of  the  law,  was  the  temple  copy  of  tne  whole 
Hebrew  scriptures. 

f  Josh.  i.  7,  8.  t  J0*11-  v5ii*  3L  !1  1 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  249 


saying,”*  &c.  “  And  Hilkiah  the  high-priest  said, 
I  have  found  the  book  of  the  law  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord.”f  David  “left  before  the  ark  of  the 
covenant  of  the  Lord,  Asaph  and  his  brethren,  to 
minister  before  the  ark  continually,  and  to  do  ac¬ 
cording  to  all  that  is  written  in  the  law  of  the 
Lord  which  He  commanded  Israel.”  J  “  Also 
Jehoiada  appointed  the  offices  of  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  by  the  hand  of  the  priests,  the  Levites, 
whom  David  had  distributed  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  to  offer  the  burnt-offerings  of  the  Lord  as 
it  is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses.”  |J  “  Then 
stood  up  Jeshua  the  son  of  Jozadak,  and  his  bre¬ 
thren  the  priests,  and  builded  the  altar  of  the 
God  of  Israel,  to  offer  burnt-offerings  thereon,  as 
it  is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses  the  man  of  God.”§ 

“  As  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  Moses.”  “  So 
they  read  in  the  book  in  the  law  of  God  distinctly, 
and  gave  the  sense,  and  caused  them  to  under¬ 
stand  the  reading.  4 4  And  they  found  written  in 
the  law  which  the  Lord  had  commanded  by  Moses, 
that  the  children  of  Israel  should  dwell  in  booths 
in  the  feast  of  the  seventh  month.”**  “  On  that 
day  they  read  in  the  book  of  Moses,  in  the  audi¬ 
ence  of  the  people.”tf  “  Therefore  the  curse  is 
poured  upon  us,  and  the  oath  that  is  written  in 
the  law  of  Moses  the  servant  of  God.”  44  As  it 
is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  all  this  evil  is 
come  upon  us.”#  We  could  produce  quotations 


t 


*  2  Kings  xiv.  6.  f  2  Kings  xxii.  8. 

*Chr*  XVK  37—40.  ||  2  Chr.  xxiii.  18.  §  Ezra  iii.  fl. 

Ezra  vi.  18.  **  Neh.  viii.  8,  14.  ff  Neh.  xiii.  1. 

Dan.  ix  11,  13. 


250  on  t:ie  canon  of  sen i r ru re, 

equally  express,  but  too  numerous  for  insertion, 
that  might  be  gathered  from  the  New  Testament.* 
These  are  the  testimonies  of  different  ages,  taken 
from  different  books,  and  marking  the  existence 
and  authority  of  a  document  entituled  the  book  of 
the  law  or  the  book  of  Moses,  in  exceeding  dif¬ 
ferent  periods  of  history — from  the  days  of  Joshua, 
bordering  immediately  on  those  of  Moses,  and  at 
intervals  downward  to  the  age  of  Christ  and  His 
apostles.  And  what  we  have  now  alleged  in  be¬ 
half  of  the  book  of  the  law  in  cumulo ,  can  also,  as 
we  shall  see  presently,  be  alleged  of  its  individual 
parts.  And  it  should  be  remarked,  that  each 
part  shares  in  the  benefit  of  such  general  testi¬ 
monies,  or  testimonies  in  the  gross,  as  have  been 
just  now  adduced  by  us.  A  reference  when 
made,  not  to  a  particular  book,  but  to  the  book  of 
the  law,  is  an  expression  of  confidence,  an  act  of 
homage,  done  to  the  authority  of  the  whole.  A 
quotation  from  any  one  of  the  five  books  in  the 
Pentateuch,  if  given  not  as  a  quotation  from  that 
particular  book,  but  as  from  the  Pentateuch  at 
large,  speaks  for  the  respect  in  which  the  whole 
Pentateuch  was  held.  In  the  language  of  Scottish 
law,  it  homologates  the  whole  record.  If  a  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  book  of  Numbers  be  made  in  this  icay^ 
the  books  of  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  and 
Deuteronomy,  all  participate  in  the  advantage  of 

*  Instead  of  exhibiting-  the  words  of  these  quotations  in  the 
text,  let  it  be  enough  that  we  point  out  the  places  of  them  here. 
Mark  xii.  19,  26.  Luke  ii.  23  ;  x.  2<? ;  xvi.  29  ;  xxiv.  27. 
John  i.  45.  Acts  xv.  21  ;  xxiv.  14.  Rom.  x.  5.  1  Cor.  ix.  9. 

Gal.  iii.  10.  Add  to  these  the  whole  substance  and  texture  ot  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  261 


it.  But  let  us  pursue  this  scriptural,  this  best  of 
all  evidence,  for  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament, 
more  into  its  details. 

1 1 .  Genesis. ~\  The  most  satisfactory  quotations 
are  those  which  at  once  present  the  extract  and 
name  the  book  or  the  writer  whence  it  is  taken — 
yet,  without  naming  either  book  or  writer,  such 
may  be  the  identity  or  even  close  resemblance  of 
the  words  extracted,  as  to  demonstate  the  reality 
of  the  quotation,  and  so  to  demonstrate  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  the  elder  work  at  the  time  that  the  later 
work  was  produced.  Even  when  the  passage 
exhibited  in  proof  of  this  does  not  amount  to  an 
extract,  there  may  at  least  be  an  undoubted  refer¬ 
ence  and  allusion  in  it  to  the  earlier  publication. 
And  there  is  a  certain  manner  of  introducing  these 
quotations  which  demonstrates,  not  only  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  the  prior  document,  but  the  respect  and 
religious  authority  in  which  it  is  held.  The  phrase 
44  it  is  written,”  s an  yeygoc(/j[/jevov,  when  not  accom¬ 
panied  with  the  mention  of  any  book,  is  as  much  the 
appropriated  phrase  for  indicating  that  the  book 
referred  to  is  a  sacred  one,  as  the  term  ygatp?]  is 
of  scripture.  And  thus  44  behold  it  is  written,”  is 
tantamount,  saving  when  the  book  is  specified  and 
is  known  not  to  be  canonical,  is  tantamount  to  46  be¬ 
hold  it  is  in  scripture” — or  we  have  it  in  scripture. 
And  thus  might  wre  gather  proofs  out  of  the  poste¬ 
rior  scriptures,  not  for  the  existence  only  but  for 
the  divine  authority  of  the  book  of  Genesis.  We 
shall  only  in  the  text  instance  from  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment,  the  continuous  allusion  made  to  its  contents, 


in  the  earlier 


of  Inc  c 


v  u. 


can 


£52  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

only  afford  room  for  a  very  few  of  the  many  and 
decisive  examples  that  might  be  adduced  from  the 
New  Testament.  44  And  man  became  a  living: 
soul,”  Gen.  ii.  7.  44  And  so  it  is  written,  The  first 

man  was  made  a  living  soul,”  1  Cor.  xv.  45. — 
44  Therefore  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  his 
mother,  and  shall  cleave  unto  his  wife ;  and  they 
shall  be  one  flesh,”  Gen.  ii.  24.  44  For  this  cause 

shall  a  man  leave  father  and  mother,  and  shall 
cleave  unto  his  wife ;  and  they  twain  shall  be  one 
flesh,”  Matt.  xix.  5.  This  last  may  be  considered 
as  mi  express  quotation — being  ushered  in  by  the 
question,  £C  Have  ye  not  read  ?”— 44  And  he  be¬ 
lieved  in  the  Lord,  and  he  counted  it  to  him  for 
righteousness,”  Gen.  xv.  6.  44  For  what  saith  the 

scripture?  Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  wras 
counted  unto  him  for  righteousness,”  Rom.  iv.  3. 
— 44  For  a  father  of  many  nations  have  I  made  thee,” 
Gen.  xvii.  5.  44  As  it  is  written,  I  have  made  thee 

a  father  of  many  nations,”  Rom.iv.  17 _ 44  Where¬ 

fore  she  said  unto  Abraham,  cast  out  this  bond- 
woman  and  her  son  :  for  the  son  of  this  bondwoman 
shall  not  be  heir  with  my  son,  even  with  Isaac,”  Gen. 
xxi.  10.  44  Nevertheless  what  saith  the  scripture? 
Cast  out  the  bondw  oman  and  her  son :  for  the  son 
of  the  bondwoman  shall  not  be  heir  with  the  son 
of  the  free  woman,”  Gal.  iv.  30. — 44  And  in  thy 
seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed, 
Gen.  xxii.  18.  44  Saying  unto  Abraham,  And  in 

thy  seed  shall  all  the  kindred  of  the  earth  be 

blessed,”  Acts  iii.  25 _ To  understand  the  force  of 

those  quotations  where  neither  the  book  nor  the 
author  of  it  is  named,  it  should  be  recollected  that 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  253 

when  the  same  history-  is  retailed  in  books  of  very 
different  ages,  the  coincidence  between  them  forms 
a  strong  presumption  that  the  one  book  is  referred 
to  in  the  other — as  strong  as  the  improbability  that 
the  history,  whether  as  it  occurred  or  as  it  was 
told  centuries  before,  could  have  been  preserved 
by  oral  tradition.  Hence  the  far  greater  likeli¬ 
hood  that  the  histories,  compendious  though  they 
be  of  the  children  of  Israel  in  the  book  of  Psalms, 
were  taken  from  the  Pentateuch,  than  transmitted 
verbally-  from  ancient  times.  We  should  thus  too 
appreciate  the  continuous  allusion  to  Genesis,  with 
several  quotations  from  it,  in  the  speech  of  Stephen, 
as  recorded  in  the  7th  chapter  of  Acts.  In  these 
and  many  like  passages,  do  we  find  the  scriptural 
rank  of  the  book  of  Genesis  or  the  legitimacy  of 
its  place  in  the  canon  clearly  and  fully  acknow¬ 
ledged  in  the  New  Testament.* 


*  See  further — 

Gen.  i.  10 - Ps.  xxxiii.  7. 


i.  18.- 

-Jer.  xxxi.  35. 

v.  1  — 

■1  Chr. 

i. 

1. 

x.  2. 

i. 

5. 

x.  6. 

• 

i. 

8. 

x.  22. 

i. 

17. 

x.  25. 

i. 

19. 

xi.  10. 

i. 

17. 

xi.  16. 

i. 

19. 

xi.  26. 

i. 

26. 

xi.  31.- 

-Neh. 

ix 

:.  7. 

xii.  1.- 

—Acts 

vii 

.  3. 

xv.  5.— 

-Rom. 

iv 

.  18. 

xv.  13, 

14 — Acts  vii.  6,  7 

xviii.  18. — Acts 

iii.  25. 

xxi.  2. — Heb. 

xi 

.  11. 

xxi.  12 

— Rom. 

ix.  7. 

xxii.  16 

,17— 

•Heb.  vi.  13, 

Gen.  xxv.  2 - 1  Chr.  i.  32. 

xxv.  13. — 1  Chr.  i.  29. 
xxv.  23 — Rom.  ix.  12. 
xxv.  26 — Hos.  xii.  3. 
xxvii.  41. — Obad.  10. 
xxxii.  26. — Hos.  xii.  4. 
xxxvi.  4.  10. — 1  Chr.  i.  35. 
xxxvi.  20. — 1  Chr.  i.  38. 
xxxviii.  2,  7.  ii.  3. 

xlvi.  6. — Josh.  xxiv.  4. 
xlvi.  8 — 1  Chr.  v.  1, 

xlvi.  10.  iv.  24. 

xlvi.  11.  vi.  1,  16. 

xlvi.  13,  17,  21.  vii.  1,  6, 

30. 

I  Chr.  viii.  1. 
xlvi.  27. — Acts  vii.  14. 
xlvii.  31 — Heb.  xi.  2 1. 
xlviii.  3. — Josh.  xiv.  4. 
xlix.  4 — 1.  Chr.  v.  1 


254  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

12.  Exodus.']  In  Mark’xii.  26,  we  have  an 
unquestionable  extract  from  the  book  of  Exodus ; 
and  there  an  express  attestation  is  borne  to  it  as 
“  the  book  of  Moses.”  This  book  is  also  identi¬ 
fied  with  the  book  of  the  law  of  Moses  by  Joshua, 
when  he  quotes,  in  the  8th  chapter  and  31st 
verse,  the  precept  in  regard  to  an  altar  of  stone 
not  being  of  hewn  stone,  and  taken  from  the  25th 
verse  of  the  20th  chapter  of  Exodus.  There  is 
besides  a  lengthened  continuous  allusion  to  the 
contents  of  it  in  the  speech  of  Stephen,  recorded 

in  the  7th  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles _ as 

also  by  Paul  in  the  11th  chapter  of  the  Hebrews. 
It  has  been  computed  that  there  are  no  less  than 
twenty-five  citations  of  this  book  by  Christ  and 
His  Apostles,  beside  the  references  which  are 
made  to  it  in  the  Old  Testament,  of  which  the 
larger  specimens  are  to  be  found  in  the  78  th  and 
105th  and  106th  Psalms  and  in  the  prayer  of 
Nehemiah.  The  following  are  a  few  of  the  more 
particular  instances. — “  And  Moses  took  the  bones 
of  Joseph  with  him;  for  he  had  straitly  sworn  the 
children  of  Israel,  saying,  God  will  surely  visit 
you ;  and  ye  shall  carry  up  my  bones  away  hence 
with  you,”  Ex.  xiii.  19.  “And  the  bones  of  Joseph 
which  the  children  of  Israel  brought  up  out  of 

Egypt,  buried  they  in  Shechem,”  Josh.  xxiv.  32 _ 

“  Neither  shall  ye  break  a  bone  thereof,”  Ex.  xii. 
46.  “  For  these  things  were  done,  that  the  scrip¬ 

tures  should  be  fulfilled,  A  bone  of  him  shall  not 

be  broken,”  John  xix.  36 _ “  And  the  Lord  went 

before  them  by  day  in  a  pillar  of  cloud,  to  lead 
them  the  way ;  and  by  night  in  a  pillar  of  fire,  to 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  255 


give  them  light;  to  go  by  day  and  night,”  Ex.  xiii. 
21.  “  Moreover,  thou  leddest  them  in  the  day 

by  a  cloudy  pillar,  and  in  the  night  by  a  pillar  of 
fire,  to  give  them  light  in  the  way  wherein  they 
should  go,”  Neh.  ix.  12. — “  Thou  shalt  not  curse 
the  ruler  of  thy  people,”  Ex.  xxii.  28.  “  For  it  is 

written,  Thou  shalt  not  speak  evil  of  the  ruler  of 
thy  people,”  Acts  xxiii.  5 — “  I  will  be  gracious 
to  whom  I  will  be  gracious,  and  will  show  mercy 
On  whom  I  will  show  mercy,”  Ex.  xxxiii.  19. 
“  For  he  saith  to  Moses,  I  will  have  mercy  on 
whom  I  will  have  mercy,  and  I  will  have  compas¬ 
sion  on  whom  [  will  have  compassion,”  Rom.  ix. 
15. — These  quotations  are  perfectly  decisive. 
We  subjoin  the  places  where  other  references  will 
be  found ;  and  from  which  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
scriptural  rank  of  this  book  is  expressly  recognized 
— more  especially  in  the  New  Testament.* 


•  Ex.  iii.  5 — Josh.  v.  15. 
iii.  6. — Matt.  xxii.  32. 
Mark  xii.  26. 

Luke  xx.  37. 

vi.  14,  15,  16,  18 _ 1  Chr. 

v.  3. 
iv.  24. 

vi.  1,  2. 

vii.  20 - Ps.  lxxviii.  44. 

ix.  16 _ Rom.  ix.  17. 

xiii.  2. — Luke  ii.  23. 
xiii.  12. — Ezek.  xliv.  30. 

xiii.  21 _ Ps.  lxxviii.  14. 

xiv.  9 _ Josh.  xxiv.  6. 

xiv.  2 1,22, 28 _ Josh.iv.23. 

Ps.  lxxviii.  13. 
cvi.  11. 

'xv.  14,  16. — Josh.  ii.  9. 
xvi.  14 — Ps.  lxxviii.  24. 
xvi.  18.— 2  Cor.  viii.  15. 
xvi.  35 — Josh.  v.  12. 


Ex.  xvi.  35. — Neh.  ix.  15. 

xvii.  6,  14. — Ps.  lxxvii.  15. 

cv.  41. 

I  Sam.  xv.  3. 

xix.  6. — 1  Pet.  ii.  9. 

xx.  2,  4,  9. — Ps.  lxxxi.  10. 

xcvii.  7. 
Ezek.  xx.  12. 
xx.  12.  — Eph.  vi.  2,  3. 

xx.  12 — 16. — Matt.  xix. 

18,  19. 

xxi.  2,  17. — Jer.  xxxiv.  14. 

Prov.  xx.  20. 

xxii.  31 — Ezek.  xliv.  31. 
xxiii.  23,  28,  33. — 

Josh.  xxiv.  II,  12. 

xxiii.  13. 
Judges  ii.  3. 

xxiv.  8 — Heb.  ix.  20. 

xxv.  40.  viii.  5. 

xxxi.  2 — 1  Chr.  ii.  20. 


256 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


13.  Leviticus .J  The  epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
may  be  regarded  as  throughout  one  sustained  testi¬ 
mony  in  favour  of  this  book— the  one,  in  the  lan¬ 
guage  of  Augustine,  treating  “  de  Christo  exhi- 
bendo ;”  the  other  “  de  Christo  exhihito .”  The 
same  doctrine  which  is  latent  in  the  one,  is  made 
patent  in  the  other — even  that  doctrine  of  the  New, 
which  is  invested  in  the  drapery  of  the  Old  Dis¬ 
pensation.  It  is  a  folded  drapery  in  the  book  of 
Leviticus  ;  but  it  is  an  unfolded  drapery  in  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews ;  and  we  may  therefore 
well  expect  a  continued  reference  from  the  later  to 
the  earlier  composition.  But  indeed  the  whole 
history  of  the  Jews  may  be  regarded  as  a  running 
commentary  on  this  portion  of  scripture ;  and  it 
were  therefore  a  work  of  immense  labour  to  deve¬ 
lop  the  whole  evidence  that  might  be  adduced  for 
the  ancient  existence  of  this  book,  and  for  the  de¬ 
ference  that  was  paid  to  it.  We  must  restrain  our¬ 
selves  to  a  very  few  examples  out  of  the  countless 
multitude.  “  Every  oblation  of  thy  meat  offer¬ 
ing  shalt  thou  season  with  salt/’  Lev.  ii.  13. 
“Every  sacrifice  shall  be  salted  with  salt,”  Mark 
ix.  49.  “  And  if  she  be  not  able  to  bring  a 

lamb,  then  she  shall  bring  two  turtles,  or  two 
young  pigeons,”  Lev.  xii.  8.  “  And  to  offer  a 

sacrifice  according  to  that  which  is  said  in  the  law 
of  the  Lord,  A  pair  of  turtle  doves  or  two  young 
pigeons,  ’  Luke  ii.  24 — “  Ye  shall  therefore  keep 
my  statutes  and  my  judgments ;  which  if  a  man 
do  he  shall  live  in  them,”  Lev.  xviii.  5.— And  I 
gave  them  my  statutes,  and  showed  them  my 
judgments,  which  if  a  man  do,  he  shall  ever  live  in 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  2 


them,”  Ezek.  xxii.  11—J “  Ye  shall  be  holy  for  I  the 
Lord  your  God  am  holy,”  Lev.  xix.  1.  “  Because 

it  is  written,  Be  ye  holy,  for  I  am  holy,”  1  Pet.  i. 
16. — u  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,” 
Lev.  xix.  18.  4 4  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as 

thyself,”  Matt.  xxii.  39,  Rom.  xiii.  9,  Gal.  v.  14. 
<c  According  to  the  scripture,  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself,”  James  ii.  8. — 64  Eye  for 
eye,  tooth  tor  tooth,”  Lev.  xxiv.  20.  44  Ye  have 

heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  An  eye  for  an  eye, 

and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,”  Matth.  v.  38 _ 44  And  I 

will  walk  among  you,  and  will  be  your  God,  and 
ye  shall  be  my  people,”  Lev.  xxvi.  12.  44  As  God 

hath  said,  I  will  dwell  in  them,  and  walk  in  them ; 
and  I  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my 
people,  2  Cor.  vi.  16.  We  cannot  take  leave  of 
this  book,  without  adverting  to  the  rich  mine  of 
evidence,  that  awaits  those  students  of  the  Mosaic 
ritual,  who  have  the  patience  to  explore  and  the 
taste  to  enjoy  those  recondite  harmonies,  which 
obtain  between  the  Christianity  in  figure  of  the 
Old,  and  the  Christianity  in  substance  and  express 
declaration  of  the  New  Testament.* 


It  is  a  beautiful  saying  of  Jerome,  “In  Levitico  singula 
sacriiicia,  imo  singulae  pene  syllabse,  et  vestes  Aaron,  et  totus 
ordo  Leviticus  spirant  ccelestia  sacramenta.”  The  doctors  of  the 
ancient  Church  tell  us,  “  literam  hujus  libri  inutilem  aut  etiam 
noxiam,  si  spolietur  spirituali  intelligentia. 1  For  further  scriptu* 
ral  references  to  the  book  of  Leviticus,  see _ 


Lev.  viii.  12. — Ps.  cxxxiii.  2 

x.  1. — 1  Chr.  xxiv.  2. 

xi.  44 - 1  Pet.  i.  15. 

xii.  3. — Luke  ii.  21. 

John  vii.  22. 

xiii.  46. — 2  Kings  xv.  5. 

xiv.  2 — 4 — Matt.  viii.  4. 

Mark  i.  44. 


Luke  v.  14. 

Lev.  xvi.  34 — Heb.  ix.  7. 
xviii.  5. — Gal.  iii.  12. 
xviii.  21.  —  2  Kings  xxiii. 
10. 

xix.  12,  15,  17,  18 _ Matt. 

v.  33,  43. 
James  v,  12. 


258 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


14.  Number  s.~\  There  are  several  striking  and 
decisive  testimonies  to  this  book  which  might  be 
singled  out  from  that  crowd  of  references  scattered 
over  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament.  Of  these 
the  first  which  occur  to  us  are  the  type  of  the 
brazen  serpent — the  red  heifer  by  Paul  in  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews — and  the  Nazarite  by 
Matthew,  ii.  23.  The  references  from  the  earlier 
scriptures,  as  in  Joshua,  have  often  this  remarkable 
distinctness  in  them,  that  they  state  a  command¬ 
ment  to  be  found  m  the  book  of  Numbers,  as  the 
commandment  of  Moses  or  of  God  by  Moses — 
thus  connecting  with  it  the  name  of  this  prophet 
and  inspired  man.  The  following  is  a  part  of  these 
scriptural  testimonies.  “  And  the  mixed  multi¬ 
tude  that  was  among  them  fell  a  lusting,”  Numb, 
xi.  4.  “  Now  these  things  were  our  examples,  to 

the  intent  we  should  not  lust  after  evil  things,  as 
they  also  lusted,”  1  Cor.  x.  6. — tc  My  servant 
Moses  is  not  so,  who  is  faithful  in  all  mine  house,” 
Numb.  xii.  7.  66  Who  was  faithful  to  him  that 

appointed  him,  as  also  Moses  was  in  all  his  house,” 
Heb.  iii.  2. — “  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Aaron, 


Prov.  xxiv.  23. 
James  ii.  9. 

1  John  ii.  II. 
Matt,  xviii.  *15. 
Lev.  xix.  36. — Prov.  xi.  I. 

xx.  10. 

xx.  9,  10.  Prov.  xx.  20. 

Matt.  xv.  4. 
John  viii.  5. 
xxii.  8 — Ezek.  xliv.  31. 
xxiii.  3 — Luke  xiii.  14. 

xxiv.  9 - Matt.  xii.  4. 


Lev.  xxv.  36. — Ezek.  xviii.  8. 

xxii.  12. 

xxv.  39. — Jer.  xxxiv.  14. 

xxv.  43. — Eph.  vi.  9. 

Col.  iv.  1. 

xxvi.  1,  8,  14,  17. — Josh. 

xxiii.  10. 
Ps.  xcvii.  7. 
Lam.  ii.  17. 
Mai.  ii.  2. 
Prov.  xxviii.  1 
xxvi.  44 - Rom.  xi.  2. 


SPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  259 

Thou  shalt  have  no  inheritance  in  their  land, 
neither  shalt  thou  have  any  part  among  them :  I 
am  thy  part,  and  thine  inheritance,  among  the 
children  of  Israel,”  Numb,  xviii.  20.  “  Only  un¬ 

to  the  tribe  of  Levi  he  gave  none  inheritance  ;  the 
sacrifices  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  made  by  fire 
are  their  inheritance,  as  he  said  unto  them,”  Josh, 
xiii.  14.  “  But  unto  the  tribe  of  Levi  Moses 

gave  not  any  inheritance :  the  Lord  God  of  Israel 
was  their  inheritance,  as  he  said  unto  them,”  Josh, 
xiii.  33 — “  And  Moses  made  a  serpent  of  brass, 
and  put  it  upon  a  pole  :  and  it  came  to  pass,  that 
if  a  serpent  had  bitten  any  man,  when  he  beheld 
the  serpent  of  brass,  he  lived,”  Numb.  xxi.  9. 
“  He  removed  the  high  places  and  brake  the 
images,  and  cut  down  the  groves,  and  brake  in 
pieces  the  brazen  serpent  that  Moses  had  made : 
for  unto  those  days  the  children  of  Israel  did  burn 
incense  to  it ;  and  he  called  it  Nehushtan,”  2  Kings 
xviii.  4.  “  And  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in 

the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be 
lifted  up,”  John  iii.  14 — “  And  the  Lord  opened  the 
mouth  of  the  ass ;  and  she  said  unto  Balaam, 
What  have  I  done  unto  thee,  that  thou  hast  smitten 
me  these  three  times  ?”  Numb.  xxii.  28.  “  But 

was  rebuked  for  his  iniquity ;  the  dumb  ass  speak¬ 
ing  with  man’s  voice  forbade  the  madness  of  the 
prophet,”  2  Peter  ii.  16 — “  Whoso  killeth  any 
person,  the  murderer  shall  be  put  to  death  by  the 
mouth  of  witnesses  ;  but  one  witness  shall  not  tes¬ 
tify  against  any  person  to  cause  him  to  die,”.  Num. 
xxxv.  30.  “  He  that  despised  Moses’  law  died 


260 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


without  mercy  under  two  or  three  witnesses,”  Heb. 
x.  28.* 

15.  Deuteronomy.']  In  this  book  we  are  told 
of  two  most  important  securities  for  its  own  preser¬ 
vation,  if  not  rather  for  the  preservation  of  the 
whole  book  of  the  law  of  Moses.  The  first  is  an 
injunction  given  to  each  king,  that  he  should  copy 
this  law  in  a  book  and  read  it  continually ;  Deut. 
xvii.  18,  19.  And  secondly  there  is  an  injunction 
for  reading  this  law  to  all  Israel  once  in  seven 
years,  for  the  sake  both  of  the  people’s  knowledge 
and  of  their  children,  Deut.  xxxi.  9 — 13.  The 
practice  of  far  more  frequent  public  reading  than 
this  is  clearly  stated  in  Acts  xv.  21.  “  For 

Moses  of  old  time,  hath  in  every  city  them  that 


*  See  further — 

Numb.  iii.  4 — 1  Chr.  xxiv.  2. 
iii.  13. — Luke  ii.  23. 
iii.  17. — 1  Chr.  vi.  1. 

ix.  12. — John  xix.  36. 

ix.  18 — 1  Cor.  x.  1. 

x.  35. — Ps.  lxviii.  1,  2. 

xi.  1.  lxxviii.  21. 

xi.  23. — Is.  1.  2. 

lix.  1. 

xi.  31,  33. —  Ps.  lxxviii.  26, 
30,  31. 

xiv.  18.  ciii.  8. 

xiv.  37. — 1  Cor.  x.  10. 
Heb.  iii.  17. 

Jude  5. 

xvi.  1.  Jude  11. 
xvi.  31 — Ps.  cvi.  17.t 

xx.  13.  cvi.  32. 

xxi.  6. — 1  Cor.  x.  9. 
xxi.  21 — Judges  xi.  19. 

xxi.  24 — Josh.  xii.  1. 

Ps.  cxxxv.  10,  11. 
Amos  ii.  9. 

xxii.  5. —  Josh.  xxiv.  9* 
xxii.  23. — Jude  11. 


Numb.  xxv.  4 - Josh.  xxii.  17* 

xxv.  7 — Ps.  cvi.  30. 

xxv.  9. — 1  Cor.  x.  8. 

xxvi.  5. —  1  Chr.  v.  1. 

xxvi.  29. — Josh  xvii.  1, 
xxvi.  55 _ Josh.  xi.  23. 

xiv.  2. 

xxvi.  65. —  1  Cor.  x.  5,  6. 
xxvii.  1. — Josh.  xvii.  3. 
xxxi.  8. — Josh.  xiii.  21. 
xxxi.  16 — 2  Pet.  ii.  15. 
xxxii.  20. — Josh.  i.  13,  14. 
xxxii.  27 — Josh.  iv.  12. 

•  xxxii.  33. — Josh.  xiii.  8. 

xxii.  4. 

xxxiii.  51,  52 — Josh.  xi. 

12. 

xxxiii.  55. — Josh,  xxiii.  13. 

Judg.  ii.  3. 
xxxiv.  3, — Josh.  xv.  1. 
xxxiv.  14 — Josh.  xiv.  2,3. 
xxxiv.  17. — Josh. xix.  51. 
xxxv.  2.  Josh.  xxi.  2. 
xxxv.  6. — Josh.  xx.  2. 

xxi.  3,  4. 
xxxvi.  2.— Josh,  xvii.  3. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  261 

preach  him,  being  read  in  the  Synagogues  every 
Sabbath-day.”  It  is  in  this  book  also  we  are  told 
of  a  third  great  security  for  the  Jewish  canon,  in 
the  deposition  of  the  book  of  the  law  in  the  ark, 
Deut.  xxxi.  26,  as  in  a  place  of  safe  and  sufficient 
custody  for  those  oracles  of  God  which  had  been 
committed  to  the  nation.  Certain  it  is  that  this 
particular  book  of  Deuteronomy  is  the  subject  of 
clearest  references  and  quotations  in  other  parts  of 
Scripture,  as  in  Rom.  xii.  19,  “  It  is  written, 
Vengeance  is  mine,  I  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord;” 
and  in  Hebrews,  x.  30 — “  We  know  him  that  hath 
said,  Vengeance  belongeth  unto  me,  I  will  recom¬ 
pense,  saith  the  Lord.”  These  are  clearly  taken 
from  Deut.  xxxii.  35.  The  phrase,  “  it  is  written,” 
when  thus  introduced,  is  tantamount  to,  “we  have 
it  in  Scripture.”  It  is  quite  doing  scriptural 
homage  to  any  book,  when  it  is  quoted  in  this  way. 
But  wre  must  now  begin  to  limit  the  number  of  our 
examples ;  for,  should  we  attempt  a  full  presenta¬ 
tion  of  these,  the  work  would  be  quite  interminable. 
Once  more,  however,  we  shall  offer,  for  this  book 
too,  a  pretty  copious  list  of  those  notices  which 
are  made  of  it,  throughout  the  Old  and  New 
Testament.  The  following  specimens  we  give  at 
large  in  the  text.  “  For  the  Lord  thy  God  is  a 
consuming  fire,”  Deut.  iv.  24.  “  For  our  God  is 

a  consuming  fire,”  Heb.  xii.  29.  “  Ye  shall  not 

tempt  the  Lord  your  God,”  Deut.  vi.  16 _ “  Jesus 

said  unto  him,  it  is  written  again,  Thou  shalt  not 
tempt  the  Lord  thy  God,”  Matth.  iv.  7. — “  Man 
doth  not  live  by  bread  only,  but  by  every  word 
that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Lord 


262  ON  THE,  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

doth  man  live,”  Deut.  viii.  3.  “  It  is  written, 

That  man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by 
every  word  of  God,”  Luke  iv.  4. — “  Thou  shalt 
fear  the  Lord  thy  God;  him  shalt  thou  serve,” 
Deut.  x.  20.  “  Get  thee  hence,  Satan;  for  it  is 

written,  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God, 
and  him  only  shalt  thou  serve,”  Matth.  iv.  10. — 
“  I  will  raise  thee  up  a  Prophet  from  among 
their  brethren  like  unto  thee,  and  will  put  my 
words  in  his  mouth ;  and  he  shall  speak  unto 
them  all  that  I  shall  command  him,”  Deut.  xviii. 
18.  See  also,  xviii.  15.  “For  Moses  truly  said 
unto  the  fathers,  A  Prophet  shall  the  Lord  you* 
God  raise  up  unto  you  of  your  brethren,  like 
unto  me ;  him  shall  ye  hear  in  all  things,  what¬ 
soever  he  shall  say  unto  you,”  Acts  iii.  22.  See 
also,  Acts  vii.  37 — “He  that  is  hanged  is  accursed 
of  God” — therefore  “  his  body  shall  not  remain 
all  night  upon  the  tree,”  Deut.  xxi.  23.  “  For  it 

is  written,  Cursed  is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a 

tree,”  Gal.  iii.  13 _ “  An  Ammonite  or  Moabite 

shall  not  enter  into  the  congregation  of  the  Lord ; 
even  to  their  tenth  generation  shall  they  not  enter 
into  the  congregation  of  the  Lord  for  ever,” 
Deut.  xxiii.  3.  “  On  that__day  they  read  in  the 

book  of  Moses  in  the  audience  of  the  people ;  and 
therein  was  found  written,  that  the  Ammonite  and 
the  Moabite  should  not  come  into  the  congrega¬ 
tion  of  God  for  ever,”  Neh.  xiii.  1 _ “  When  a 

man  hath  taken  a  wife  and  married  her,  and  it 
come  to  pass  that  she  find  no  favour  in  his  eyes, 
because  he  hath  found  some  uncleanness  in  her; 
then  let  him  write  her  a  bill  of  divorcement,  and 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  263 

give  it  in  her  hand,  and  send  her  out  of  his  house,’* 
Dcut.  xxiv.  1.  “  And  they  said,  Moses  suffered  to 
write  a  bill  of  divorcement,  and  to  put  her  away,” 
Mark  x.  4. — “  The  fathers  shall  not  be  put  to  death 
for  the  children,  neither  shall  the  children  be  put  to 
death  for  the  fathers;  every  man  shall  be  put  to  death 
for  his  own  sin,”  Deut.  xxiv.  16.  “  But  the  chil¬ 

dren  of  the  murderers  he  slew  not :  according  unto 
that  which  is  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  of 
Moses,  wherein  the  Lord  commanded,  saying, 
The  fathers  shall  not  be  put  to  death  for  the. 
children,  nor  the  children  put  to  death  for  the 
fathers  :  but  every  man  shall  be  put  to  death  for 
his  own  sin,”  2  Kings  xiv.  6 — “  Thou  shalt  not 
muzzle  the  ox,  when  he  treadeth  out  the  corn,” 
Deut.  xxv.  4.  “  For  it  is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses, 
Thou  shalt  not  muzzle  the  mouth  of  the  ox  that 
treadeth  out  the  corn,”  1  Cor.  ix.  9 _ “  If  bre¬ 

thren  dwell  together,  and  one  of  them  die,  and 
have  no  child,  the  wife  of  the  dead  shall  not  marry 
•  without  unto  a  stranger:  her  husband’s  brother 
shall  go  in  unto  her,  and  take  her  to  him  to  wife, 
and  perform  the  d^ty  of  an  husband’s  brother  unto 
her,”  Deut.  xxv.  5.  (l  Master,  Moses  said,  If  a 
man  die  having  no  children;  his  brother  shall  marry 
his  wife,  and  raise  up  seed  unto  his  brother,” 
Matt.  xxii.  24 — “  And  there  shalt  thou  build  an 
altar  unto  the  Lord  thy  God,  an  altar  of  stones, 
thou  shalt  not  lift  up  any  iron  tool  upon  them  : 
Thou  shalt  build  the  altar  of  the  Lord  thy  God  of 
whole  stones,”  Deut.  xxvii.  5,  6.  “  As  Moses  the 

servant  of  the  Lord  commanded  the  children  of 
Israel,  as  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  of 


264 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


Moses,  An  altar  of  whole  stones,  over  which  no 

man  hath  lift  up  any  iron,”  Josh.  viii.  31 _ “  Cursed 

be  he  that  confirmeth  not  all  the  words  of  this  law 
to  do  them,”  Deut.  xxvii.  26.  “  For  it  is  written, 

Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all 
things  which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to 

do  them,”  Gal.  iii.  10 _ “  For  this  commandment 

which  I  command  thee  this  day,  it  is  not  hidden 
from  thee,  neither  is  it  far  off.  It  is  not  in  hea¬ 
ven,  that  thou  shouldest  say,  Who  shall  go  up  for 
us  to  heaven,  and  bring  it  unto  us,  that  we  may 
hear  it  and  do  it  ?  Neither  is  it  beyond  the  sea, 
that  thou  shouldest  say,  Who  shall  go  over  the 
sea  for  us,  and  bring  it  unto  us,  that  we  may  hear 
it,  and  do  it  ?  But  the  word  is  very  nigh  unto 
thee,  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart,  that  thou 

mayest  do  it,”  Deut.  xxx.  11 — 14 _ “  Say  not  in 

thine  heart,  Who  shall  ascend  into  heaven — or, 
who  shall  descend  into  the  deep  ?  But  what  saith 
it?  The  word  is  nigh  thee,  even  in  thy  mouth, 
and  in  thy  heart,”  Rom.  x.  6 — 8. — ££  I  will  move 
them  to  jealousy  with  those  which  are  not  a  people, 
I  will  provoke  them  to  anger  with  a  foolish  nation,” 
Deut.  xxxii.  21.  “  Moses  saith,  I  will  provoke 

you  to  jealousy  by  them  that  are  no  people, 
and  by  a  foolish  nation  I  will  anger  you,”  Rom. 
x.  19. — “  Rejoice,  O  ye  nations,  with  his  people, ” 
Deut.  xxxii.  43.  “  And  again  he  saith,  Re¬ 

joice  ye  Gentiles  with  his  people,”  Rom.  xv.  10.* 


*  See  further — 

Deut.  iii.  12. — Josh.  sdii.  8. 

iii.  20.  xxii.  4. 

iv.  2.  i.  7. 


Deut.  iv.  2. — Rev.  xxii.  18. 

iv.  43. — Josh.  xx.  8. 

v.  6. — Ps.  lxxxi.  10. 
v.  10. — Jer.  xxxii.  18. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  265 


* 


16.  Jo shua. We  must  now  be  more  sparing 
of  our  quotations.  Distinction  is  made  by  the 
Jewish  biblists  between  the  elder  and  the  later 
prophets — or  between  those  who  lived  prior  and 
posterior  to  the  days  of  king  Uzziah.  Certain  it 
is,  that  Zechariah  i.  4,  warns  the  children  of 
Israel  against  being  as  their  fathers,  unto  whom 
the  former  prophets  had  cried.  And  as  the  book 
of  Joshua  is  ranked  by  them  as  a  prophetical 
book,  he  has  an  undisputed  title  to  a  place  in  the 


Deut.  v.  17. — Math.  v.  21. 

v.  18. — Luke  xviii.  20. 

v.  19. — Rom.  xiii.  9. 

vi.  5. — Math.  xxii.  37. 

Mark  xii.  30. 
Luke  x.  27. 

vli.  20. — Josh.  xxiv.  12. 

vii.  25.  vii.  1,21. 

ix.  3. — Heb.  xii.  29. 

x.  17. — 2  Chr.  xix.  7. 

Acts  x.  34. 
Rom.  ii.  11. 

x.  20. — Luke  iv.  8. 

xi.  6. — Ps.  cvi.  17. 

xi.  24. — Josh.  i.  3. 

xiv.  9. 

xi.  29.  viii.  33. 

xii.  3. — Judges  ii.  2. 

xii.  5. — 1  Kings  viii.  29. 

2  Chr.  vii.  12. 
xv.  12. — Jer.  xxxiv.  14. 
xvii.  6. —  Heb.  x.  28. 
xviii.  1. — 1  Cor.  ix.  13. 
xviii.  15,18. — Johni.  45. 

Acts  vii.  37. 
xix.  2. — Josh.  xx.  2. 
xix.  9.-  xx.  7. 

xix.  1 5. — Math,  xviii.  1 6. 

John  viii.  17. 
2  Cor.  xiii.  1. 

xix.  21. — Math.  v.  38. 

xx.  8. — Judges  vii.  3, 
VOL.  IV. 


Deut.  xx.  14. — Josh.  viii.  2. 

xxiii.  25. — Math.  xii.  1.. 

Mark  ii.  23. 
Luke  vi.  1. 

xxiv.  1. — Math.  v.  31. 

xix.  7. 

xxiv.  16.— 2  Chr.  xxv.4. 

xxv.  3. — 2  Cor.  xi.  24. 
xxv.  4. — 1  Tim.  v.  18. 
xxv.  5. — Mark  xii.  19. 

Luke  xx.  28. 

xxv.  7. — Ruth  iv.  1,  2, 

&c. 

xxvi.  15. — Is.  lxiii.  15. 
xxvii.  2. — Josh.  iv.  1. 
xxvii.  14,  &c. — Dan.  ix. 

11. 

xxviii.  15. — Lam.  ii.  17. 
xxviii.37. — 1  Kings  ix.  7. 

Jer.  xxiv.  9. 
xxv.  9. 

xxviii.  53. — 2  Kings  vi. 

28. 

Lam.  iv.  10. 
xxix.  9. — Josh.  i.  7. 

1  Kings  ii.  3. 
xxix.  24.  ^.Jx.  8. 

Jer.  xxii.  8. 
xxxi.  23. — Josh.  i.  6. 
xxxii.  17. — 1  Cor.  x.  20 
xxxii.  30. — Josh,  xxiii. 
10. 


M 


266  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

earlier  of  the  two  divisions.  We  have  strong 
evidence  that  the  book  existed  in  the  days  of 
Ahab,  though  not  that  Joshua  was  the  writer  of 
it.  “  And  Joshua  adjured  them  at  that  time,  say¬ 
ing,  Cursed  be  the  man  before  the  Lord  that 
riseth  up  and  buildeth  this  city  Jericho :  he  shall 
lay  the  foundation  thereof  in  his  first-born,  and  in 
his  youngest  son  shall  he  set  up  the  gates  of  it,” 
Josh.  vi.  26.  .“  In  his  days  did  Hiel  the  Bethelite 

build  J ericho :  he  laid  the  foundation  thereof  in 
Abiram  his  first-born,  and  set  up  the  gates  thereof 
in  his  younger  son  Segub,  according  to  the  word 
of  the  Lord  which  he  spake  by  Joshua  the  son  of 
Nun,”  1  Kings  xvi.  34.  Of  this,  and  indeed 
most  other  of  the  historical  books,  though  we  have 
very  strong  traditions  in  regard  to  their  human 
authors,  we  have  no  scriptural  certainty  about 
them — or  rather,  it  were  more  proper  to  say,  that, 
with  the  evidence  we  have  of  their  divine  author¬ 
ship,  our  only  uncertainty  respected  the  amanu¬ 
enses  of  these  writings.  As  to  the  book  of  Joshua, 
we  have  several  examples  of  the  New  Testament 
having  incorporated  parts  of  its  history  into  its  own 
pages. — “  So  the  people  shouted  when  the  priests 
blew  with  the  trumpets :  and  it  came  to  pass, 
when  the  people  heard  the  sound  of  the  trumpet, 
and  the  people  shouted  with  a  great  shout,  that 
the  wall  fell  down  flat,  so  that  the  people  went  up 
into  the  city,  every  man  straight  before  him,  and 
they  took  the  city,”  Josh.  vi.  20.  “  By  faith  the 

walls  of  Jericho  fell  down,  after  they  were  com¬ 
passed  about  seven  days,”  Heb.  xi.  30. —  “  And 
the  young  men  that  were  spies  went  in,  and 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 

brought  out  Rahab,  and  her  father,  and  her 
mother,  and  her  brethren,  and  all  that  she  had 
and  they  brought  out  all  her  kindred,  and  left 
them  without  the  camp  of  Israel,”  Josh.  vi.  23. 
“  By  faith  the  harlot  Rahab  perished  not  with 
them  that  believed  not,  when  she  had  received  the 
spies  with  peace.”  Heb.  xi.  31.  “  But  we  have 

far  more  ancient  references  than  this,  as  the  follow¬ 
ing:  <c  And  they  buried  him  in  the  border  of  his 
inheiitance  in  Timnath-serah,  which  is  in  mount 
Ephraim,  on  the  north  side  of  the  hill  of  Gaash,” 
Josh.  xxiv.  30.  “  And  they  buried  him  in  the 

border  of  his  inheritance  in  Timnath-heres,  in  the 
mount  of  Ephraim,  on  the  north  side  of  the  hill 
Gaash,”  Judges  ii.  9.* 

17.  Judges. ]  This  history  begins  where  that 
of  Joshua  ends,  or  takes  up  the  narrative  of  Jewish 
affairs  immediately  after  the  death  of  the  great 
captain  of  Israel,  of  which  event  it  makes  men¬ 
tion.  The  portion  of  history  embraced  in  this 
book  is  made  the  subject  of  a  general  reference  by 
Paul  in  Acts  xiii.  19 — 21 — as  also  in  the  eleventh 
chapter  of  the  Hebrews.  “  And  after  that  he 
gave  unto  them  judges,”  &c.,  Acts  xiii.  20.  Here 
Paul,  by  quoting  history  that  was  only  recorded 
in  the  book  of  Judges,  at  the  same  time  and  in  the 
same  manner  with  other  history  only  recorded  in 
the  book  of  Exodus,  does  equal  honour  to  both 

'  *  See  further — 

Josh.  i.  5. — Heb.  xiii.  5. 

“•  xi.  31. 

James  ii.  25. 

*.  12,  13.— Is.  xxviii.  21. 

Heb.  iii.  11. 


Josh.  xv.  14. — Judges  i.  10. 
xyi.  2.  i.  26. 

xix.  47.  xviii.  29. 

xx.  8 — 1  Chr.  vi.  76. 

xxi.  12.  vi.  56. 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE,  * 

iese  books,  and  expresses  the  like  confidence  m 

ith.  The  following  is  a  distinct  allusion  to  a 
subject  in  this  book.  44  And  the  three  hundred 
blew  the  trumpets,  and  the  Lord  set  every  man's 
jword  against  his  fellow’,  even  throughout  all  the 
host,”  Judges  vii.  22.  “For  thou  hast  broken 
the  yoke  of  his  burden,  and  the  staff  of  his 
shoulder,  £he  rod  of  his  oppressor,  as  in  the  day  of 
Midian,”  Isaiah  ix.  4.  That  the  transactions  in 
this  book  were  written  at  a  very  early  period,  is 
obvious  from  the  mention  of  them  in  the  books  of 
Samuel,  and  in  the  Psalms — as  the  reader  may 
perceive  by  comparing  Judges  iv.  2  ;  vii.  4 ;  xi.  2; 
with  1  Samuel  xii.  9 — 11 — Judges  ix.  53,  with 
2  Samuel  xi.  .21 — and  Judges  v.  5,  with  Psalm 
lxviii.  8,  9.  It  is  a  striking  proof  of  the  early 
composition  of  the  book  of  Judges,  that,  at  the 
time  of  its  being  written,  as  appears  from  i.  2 1 ,  the 
Jebusites  still  dwelt  in  Jerusalem — whereas  wre 
might  infer  from  2  Samuel  v.  6,  &c.,  that  the 
total  expulsion  of  them  from  that  city  must  have 
taken  place  at  the  hands  of  David.  Other  vestiges 
of  its  high  antiquity  are  to  be  found — and  so  as 
to  harmonize  with  the  idea  that  Samuel  was 
the  writer  of  it.  For  Samuel  being  a  writer  of 
scripture,  we  have  strong  evidence  in  Acts  iii.  21 
— 24 — particularly  in  the  latter  of  these  two  verses, 
where  it  is  said  that  44  all  the  prophets  from 
Samuel  have  foretold  of  these  days.”  That  he 
was  the  writer  of  the  book  of  Judges,  is  the  con¬ 
fident  opinion  of  many  of  our  biblists.  We  might 
add,  though  without  laying  much  stress  on  the 
observation,  that,  if  the  adage  of  Matt.  ii.  23  be  a 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  269 

reference  to  Judges  xiii.  5,  7, — then  is  there  testi¬ 
mony  in  one  of  the  gospels  to  the  prophetical 
character  of  this  book.*  ' 

18.  Ruth.~\  There  are  certain  of  the  books, 
whose  canonicity  reposes  mainly  on  the  undoubted 
fact  of  their  having  entered  as  constituent  parts 
into  that  collection  of  writings  termed  Scripture,  in 
the  days  of  the  New  Testament;  and  on  the  homage 
rendered  to  them  generally,  and  without  any  ex¬ 
ception  whatever,  being  specified  by  the  founders 
of  the  latter  dispensation — and  that  notwithstand¬ 
ing  their  earnest  and  repeated  dissuasives  against 
vain  traditions,  or  “Jewish  fables”  of  all  sorts,  or 
aught  that  in  any  shape  made  unwarrantable 
usurpation  of  a  divine  authority.  We  are  not, 
however,  altogether  destitute  of  scriptural  allusions 
to  the  subject-matter,  of  which  this  book  is  the 
only  known  record— as  may  be  seen  in  the  refer¬ 
ences  below.f  In  the  first  verse  of  the  first 
chapter  of  this  book,  the  era  of  the  judges  is 
spoken  of,  as  having  already  elapsed ;  and  in  the 
last  \erse  of  the  last  chapter,  the  genealogy  of 
Ruth’s  family  terminates  with  David _ w„ich  in¬ 

timates  it  to  have  been  w  ritten  in  the  days*  of  this 
Jewish  monarch  ;  and,  in  all  likelihood  by  Samuel. 

e  may  add  that  Matthew  notices  Ruth  expressly 
in  his  genealogy— as  if  pointing  to  the  memorial 
that  is  left  of  her. 

*  See  further—  f  Ruth  ii.  ] _ Matt.  i.  5. 


iv.  12.— 1  Chr.  ii.  4 
Matt.  i.  3. 

iv.  18. — 1  Chr.  ii.  4. 
5Matt.  i.  3. 


V.  5.  xcvii.  5. 

vi.  11. — Heb.  xi.  32. 

▼ii-  25. — Ps.  lxxxiii.  11. 
xi.  1. — Heb.  xi.  32. 
xvi.  17. — Matt.  ii.  23. 


270  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

19.  Samuel — two  books .J  In  entering  on  this 
portion  of  scripture,  it  seems  proper  to  remark, 
that,  in  more  than  one  direct  history  of  the  same 
events,  we  have  a  duplicate  or  triplicate  evidence 
— a  concurrence  of  testimonies  for  the  same  sub¬ 
ject-matter — besides  a  certain  countenance  and 
authority  given  by  these  writers  to  each  other, 
who  thus  depone  alike  to  one  and  the  same  his¬ 
tory.  That  Samuel  himself  wrote  the  greater 
part  of  these  books,  is  a  general  and  confident 
opinion.  A  scriptural  writer  he  undoubtedly 
must  have  been* — though  we  are  unable  precisely 
to  define  all  the  scriptures  which  he  wrote.  “  Now 
the  acts  of  David  the  king,  first  and  last,  behold, 
they  are  written  in  the  book  of  Samuel  the  seer, 
and  in  the  book  of  Nathan  the  prophet,  and  in  the 
book  of  Gad  the  seer.”f  We  are  also  told  of  his 

employment  as  a  writer  in  1  Samuel  x.  25 _ 

“  Then  Samuel  told  the  people  the  manner  of  the 
kingdom,  and  wrote  it  in  a  book,  and  laid  it  up 
before  the  Lord.”  This  last  circumstance,  by 
the  way,  is  another  scriptural  indication  of  the 
practice  of  laying  up  all  the  writings,  that  were  to 
be  preserved,  in  a  holy  place ;  and  it  strengthens 
the  security  that  we  feel  in  the  safe  keeping  of 
the  canonical  scriptures — the  zvhiuOzTOi-^ laid  up  in 
£<  area  ecclesiastica,”  zv  ttj  zi^ootco  rqg  hiaOrjzqg,  in 
“armario  synagogse.”  Certain  it  is,  at  all  events, 
that  we  have  very  many  confirmations  of  these 
books  of  Samuel  in  other  scriptures.  “  Behold 
the  days  come  that  I  will  cut  off  thine  arm,  and 


*  Acts  iii.  24. 


f  1  Chr.  xxix.  29. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  271 

the  arm  of  thy  father’s  house,  that  there  shall  not 
be  an  old  man  in  thine  house,”  1  Samuel  ii.  31. 
“  So  Solomon  thrust  out  Abiathar  from  being 
priest  unto  the  Lord;  that  he  might  fulfil  the 
word  of  the  Lord,  which  he  spake  concerning  the 

house  of  Eli  in  Shiloh,”  1  Kings  ii.  27. _ 44  Now 

make  us  a  king  to  judge  us  like  all  the  nations,” 
1  Samuel  viii.  5.  44  I  will  be  thy  king;  where  is 

any  other  that  may  save  thee  in  all  thy  cities  ? 
and  thy  judges,  of  whom  thou  saidst,  Give  me  a 
king  and  princes  ?  I  gave  thee  a  king  in  mine 
anger,  and  took  him  away  in  my  wrath,”  Hosea 
xiii.  10,  11.  44  And  afterward  they  desired  a  king, 

and  God  gave  unto  them  Saul,”  Acts  xiii.21 _ 44  So 

the  priest  gave  him  hallowed  bread :  for  there  was 
no  bread  there  but  the  shew-bread  that  was  taken 
from  before  the  Lord,”  1  Samuel  xxi.  6.  44  But 

he  said  unto  them,  Have  ye  not  read  what  David 
did  when  he  was  an  hungered,  and  they  that  were 
with  him ;  how  he  entered  into  the  house  of  God, 
and  did  eat  the  shew-bread,  which  was  not  lawful  for 
him  to  eat,  neither  for  them  which  were  with  him, 

but  only  for  the  priests,”  Matt.  xii.  3,  4 _ 44  And 

David  came  to  Baal-perazim,  and  David  smote 
them  there,  and  said,  the  Lord  hath  broken  forth 
upon  mine  enemies  before  me,  as  the  breach  of 
waters.  Therefore  he  called  the  name  of  that 
place,  Baal-perazim,”  2  Samuel  v.  20  .  44  For  the 
Lord  shall  rise  up  as  in  mount  Perazim,  he  shall 
be  wroth  as  in  the  valley  of  Gibeon,  that  he  may 
do  his  work,  his  strange  work  ;  and  bring  to  pass 
his  act,  his  strange  act,”  Isaiah  xxviii.  21.  We 
can  dispose  of  the  profusion  of  these  testimonies 


272  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

in  no  other  way,  than  by  pointing  out  the  places 

where  so  many  of  the  remainder  are  to  be  found  in 
a  note  below.* 

20.  Kings — two  Books.~\  We  may  here  ob¬ 
serve,  that  still  more  remarkably  than  with  the 
pieces  which  we  have  just  quitted,  we  have  now  the 
benefit  of  a  multiple  testimony,  both  for  the  con¬ 
tents  of  the  books  on  which  we  are  entering ;  and 
so  by  implication,  for  the  books  themselves.  We 
have  not  only  the  corroboration  of  other  books, 
such  as  the  two  of  Chronicles  and  Second  Samuel ; 
but  we  have  other  historical  witnesses  in  those 
speakers  or  writers  of  other  times,  who  gave  sum- 

*  1  Sam.  i.  11 — Judges  xiii.  5.i2  Sam.vii.  1 — l  Chr.xvii.  l,&c. 

'  ~  *  vii.  2—13 — 1  Kings  viii. 

15—26. 

vn.  7 — 1  Chr.  xvii.  6.  . 

vii.  8 — Ps.  lxxviii.  70. 
vii.  12. — l  Kings  ii.  1. 
vii.  13.  v.  5. 

vi.  1 2. 

1  Chr.  xxii.  10. 

vii.  14 — Heb.  i.  5. 

Ps.  Ixxxix.  30, 

3i,  32. 

viii.  18. — l  Chr.  xviii.  17. 

xh  1.  xx.  1. 

xii.  24.— Matt.  i.  6. 

1  Chr.  xxii.  9. 
xii.  30.  xx.  2. 

xix.  16. — 1  Kings  ii.  8. 

xxi.  18. — 1  Chr.  xx.  4. 

xxj*  19.  xx.  5. 

xxii.  2,  &c. — Ps.  xviii.  2,&c. 
xxii.  50. — Rom.  xv.  9. 
xxiii.  8-11 — 1  Chr.  xi.  11. 

xi.  12. 
xi.  27. 

xxiii.  18.  si.  20. 

xxiii.  21.  xj.  23. 

xxiii.  25.  xi.  27. 

xxiv.  1,  xxi.  1. 


ii.  8. — Ps.  cxiii.  7. 
vii.  3.— Matt.  iv.  10. 
Luke  iv.  8. 

ix.  1. — 1  Chr.  viii.  33. 
ix.  15,  &c. — Acts  xiii.  21. 

xv.  22. — Hos.  vi.  6. 

Matt.  ix.  13. 
xii.  7. 

xvi.  11. — 2  Sam.  vii.  8. 

Ps.  lxxviii.  70. 
xxv.  44.-2  Sam.  iii.  14 
15. 

xxix.  4.— 1  Chr.  xii.  19. 
xxxi.  13.— 2  Sam.  ii.  4. 

2  Sam.  i.  14.— Ps.  cv.  15. 
i.  20. — Mic.  i.  10. 
iii.  27. — 1  Kings  ii.  5. 
v.  i. — 1  Chr.  xi.  1. 
v.  2.  Ps.  lxxviii.  71. 
v.  13. — 1  Chr.  iii.  9. 


v.  14. 
v.  17. 

v.  21. 

vi.  2. 
vi.  6. 
vi.  12. 
vi.  18. 


iii.  5. 
xi.  16. 
xiv.  8. 

xiv.  12. 
xiii.  5,  6. 
xiii.  9. 

xv.  25. 

xvi.  2. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  273 

maries  of  the  Jewish  story — as  the  prayer  of  the 
ninth  chapter  of  Nehemiah — several  historical 
psalms,  the  78th,  the  105th,  and  106th_the  long 
speech  of  Stephen,  in  the  7th  chapter  of  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles;  and  of  Paul  in  the  13th  chapter 
—besides  the  enumeration  of  Old  Testament 
worthies,  which  he  gives  in  the  1 1  th  chapter  of  his 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  It  is  true,  that  we  are 
uncertain  of.  the  precise  authors  for  all  the  precise 
portions  of  the  historical  books  in  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment.  We  are  unable  to  make  such  a  distribution 
as  this;  but  we  know  that  there  was  no  lack 
either  of  writers  or  inspired  men,  and  at  opportune 
times,  for  all  the  scriptural  compositions  which 
have  come  down  to  us.  The  character  indeed  of 
these  compositions  rests,  not  on  our  knowledge  of 
their  secondary  or  human  authors;  but  on  our 
knowledge  of  their  divine  authorship,  as  attested- 
by  the  general  estimation  in  which  they  were  held 

tlle  Jevvs— by  the  virtual  consent  to  this 
of  Christ  and  His  Apostles,  who  would  have  made 
it  known  to  their  disciples,  if  they  had  thought  the 
estimation  extravagant  or  false— by  the  direct  at¬ 
testations  given  to  these  writings  in  certain  parts  of 
the  Old,  and  more  especially  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment— by  the  agreement  of  Jews  and  Christians 
in  this  matter-and  by  all  the  general  arguments 
which  we  have  brought  to  bear  on  the  question  of 
hie  canonical  authority  of  the  Jewish  scriptures. 
As  to  the  abundance  of  qualified  penmen  in  those 
days,  though  we  cannot  point  to  the  definite  contri¬ 
butions  of  each  or  any  of  them-yet  we  know  gene¬ 
rally  of  their  existence  in  the  tribe  of  Levi,  and 

m  2 


274  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

schools  of  the  prophets ;  and,  individually,  even 
the  names  of  some  of  them.  We  have  Samuel 
who  did,  as  we  have  already  seen,  write  memoirs; 
and  had  the  highest  place  and  character  of  his  day 
in  Israel ;  and  is  ranked  by  succeeding  writers 
with  the  greatest  worthies  of  the  nation.  “  Moses 
and  Aaron  among  his  priests,  and  Samuel  among 
them  that  call  upon  his  name ;  they  called  upon 
the  Lord,  and  he  answered  them,”  Ps.  xcix.  6. 
“  Though  Moses  and  Samuel  stood  before  me,” 
Jeremiah  xv.  1.  “  Yea  and  all  the  prophets  from 

Samuel,”  Acts  iii.  24.  u  He  gave  judges  until 
Samuel  the  prophet,”  Acts  xiii.  20.  <c  Time  would 
fail  to  tell  of  David  and  Samuel  and  the  prophets,” 
Heb.  xi.  32 — And  then  we  have  Nathan  the  seer, 
and  Gad  the  seer,  both  of  them  recorded  in  1 
Chron.  xxix.  29,  as  the  writers  of  national  his¬ 
tory.*  And  we  have  Solomon. — And  we  have 
Ezra — And  we  have  transcribers  as  well  as  origi¬ 
nal  writers — for  instance  the  men  whom  Hezekiah 
employed  to  copy  out  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon. 

In  I  Chr,  xxix.  29,  there  occur  the  names  of  no  less  than 
three  Jewish  historians  two  of  which  do  not  appear  in  the  titles 
of  any  of  our  sacred  books.  There  are  a  good  many  other  in¬ 
stances  besides  —as  in  2  Chr.  xii.  1 5  ;  xiii.  22  ;  xx.  34  ;  xxvi.  22, 
where  Isaiah  is  specified  as  one  of  the  writers  of  Jewish  history;  and 
xxxiii.  19,  where  mention  is  made  of  the  written  sayings  of  the 
seers.  There  is  reference  made  also  to  what  undoubtedly  were  other 
than  scriptural  books,  as  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Israel,  as 
in  1  Kings  xiv.  19.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  there  were 
chronological  and  political  histories,  diverse  from  those  now  ex¬ 
tant  in  our  Bibles,  yet  valuable  documents  notwithstanding.  In 
as  far  as  they  are  referred  to  in  scripture,  they  must  be  regarded 
as  at  least  true  narratives  of  the  history  for  which  they  are 
quoted ;  and  they  seem  to  have  been  thus  referred  to  in  1  King* 
xv.  7.  2  Chr.  xvi.  II  ;  xxiv.  27  ;  xxv.  26  ;  xxvii.  7  ;  xxviii. 

26;  xxxii  32  ;  xxxv.  27.  These  seem  to  have  been  more  ample 
records  than  those  which  have  been  actually  transmitted  to  us. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  275 

In  short  we  have  no  want  of  a  sufficient  human 
agency  to  account  for  all  the  compositions  which 
hav£  come  down  to  us.  For  the  character  of 
these  we  must  examine  the  evidence  in  regard  to 
their  nature  and  quality  viewed  as  products — 
which  may  be  altogether  independent  of  our  know¬ 
ledge  in  regard  to  the  names  of  the  men  who  were 
used  instrumentally  in  the  production  of  them.  It 
is  evident  from  1  Kings  viii.  8  &  ix.  21,  that  at  least 
certain  parts  of  these  compositions  must  have  been 
written  during  the  currency  of  the  kingdom  of 
Judea,  or  prior  to  the  captivity  by  Nebuchadnez¬ 
zar.  The  intimate  connexion  of  these  books  with 
others  in  scripture,  as  with  the  Chronicles,,  and 
the  prophecies  of  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  speaks 
strongly  for  their  own  rank  and  authority  as  ca¬ 
nonical  writings.  But  we  have  more  particular 
and  express  evidence  for  this  in  such  quotations  as 
the  following.  “  And  when  the  queen  of  Sheba 
heard  of  the  fame  of  Solomon  concerning  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  she  came  to  prove  him  with  hard 
questions,”  &c.  1  Kings  x.  1,  &c.  “  The  queen 

of  the  south  came  from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon,”  Matt.  xii. 

42 _ “  And  behold,  there  came  a  man  of  God  out 

of  Judah  by  the  word  of  the  Lord  unto  Bethel, 
•  and  Jeroboam  stood  by  the  altar  to  burn  incense. 
And  he  cried  against  the  altar  in  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  and  said,  O  altar,  altar !  thus  saith  the  Lord, 
Behold,  a  child  shall  be  born  unto  the  house  of 
David,  Josiah  by  name,  and  upon  thee  shall  he 
offer  the  priests  of  the  high  places  that  burn  in¬ 
cense  upon  thee,  and  men’s  bones  shall  be  burnt 


276 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

upon  thee,  "  1  Kings  xiii.  1,2.  “  And  as  Josiah 

turned,  himself,  he  spied  the  sepulchres  that  were 
there  in  the  mount,  and  sent,  and  took  the  bdhes 
out  of  the  sepulchres,  and  burnt  them  upon  the 
altar,  and  polluted  it,  according  to  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  which  the  man  of  God  proclaimed,  who 

proclaimed  these  words,”  2  Kings  xxiii.  16 _ “  And 

Elijah  the  Tishbite  said  unto  Ahab,  As  the  Lord 
God  of  Israel  liveth,  before  whom  I  stand,  there 
shall  not  be  dew  nor  rain  these  years,  but  according 
to  my  word,”  1  Kings  xvii.  1.  44  Elias  was  a  man 

subject  to  like  passions  as  we  are,  and  he  prayed 
earnestly  that  it  might  not  rain  ;  and  it  rained  not 
on  the  earth  by  the  space  of  three  years  and  six 
months.  And  he  prayed  again,  and  the  heaven 
gave  rain,  and  the  earth  brought  forth  her  fruit,” 
James  v.  17,  18.  But  far  the  most  illustrious 
testimony,  and  by  which  the  character  of  6<  scrip¬ 
ture  is  most  distinctly  and  expressly  given  to  the 
book  of  Kings  is  the  following — “  The  children  of 
Israel  have  forsaken  thy  covenant,  thrown  down 
thine  altars,  and  slain  thy  prophets  with  the  sword ; 
and  I,  e\en  I  only,  am  left,  and  they  seek  my  life, 
to  take  it  away.  c<\et  I  have  left  me  seven 
thousand  in  Israel,  all  the  knees  which  have  not 
bowed  unto  Baal,  and  every  mouth  which  hath 
not  kissed  him,”  1  Kings  xix.  10,  18.  “  Wot  ye  . 

not  what  the  ‘scripture’  saith  of  Elias?  how  he 
maketh  intercession  to  God  against  Israel,  saying, 
Lord  they  have  killed  ‘thy  prophets,  and  digged 
down  thine  altars ;  and  I  am  left  alone,  and  they 
seek  my  life.  But  what  saith  the  answer  of  God 
unto  him  ?  I  have  reserved  to  myself  seven  thou- 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  277 

♦ 

sand  men,  who  have  not  bowed  the  knee  to  the 
image  of  Baal,”  Rom.  xi.  2 — 4. —  44  And  his  flesh 
(Naaman’s)  came  again  like  unto  the  flesh  of  a 
little  child,  and  he  was  clean,”  2  Kings  v.  14. 

“  And  many  lepers  were  in  Israel  in  the  time  of 
Eliseus  the  prophet ;  and  none  of  them  was 
cleansed,  saving  Naaman  the  Syrian,”  Luke  iv. 
27. — 44  Then  Rezin  king  of  Syria,  and  Pekah  son 
of  Remaliah  king  of  Israel,  came  up  to  Jerusalem 
to  war ;  and  they  besieged-  Ahaz ;  but  could  not 
overcome  him,”  2  Kings  xvi.  5.  44  And  it  came 

to  pass  in  the  days  of  Ahaz  the  son  of  Jotham,  the 
son  of  Uzziah  king  of  Judah,  that  Rezin  the  king 
of  Syria,  and  Pekah  the  son  of  Remaliah,  king  of 
Israel,  went  up  towards  Jerusalem,  to  war  against 
it,  but  could  not  prevail  against  it,”  Isaiah  vii.  1.* 


•  See  further— 

1  Kings  ii.  10. — Acts  ii.  29. 

xiii.  36. 

ji.  11.— 1  Chr.  xxix.  26,  27. 
ii.  12.  xxix.  23. 

ii.  46. — 2  Chr.  i.  1. 

iii.  9.  i.  10. 

V.  26.  ix.  25. 

v.  2.  ii.  3. 


I  Kings  ix. 
ix.  5. — 
ix.  7. — 
ix.  8. 
ix.  10.- 

ix.  24. 

x.  1. 


1 _ 2  Chr.  vii.  11. 

-1  Chr.  xxii.  10. 
Jer.  vii.  14. 
xxii.  8. 

—2  Chr.  y iii.  1. 

viii.  11. 

ix.  1,  &c. 
Luke  xi.  31. 

12. — 2  Chr.  ix.  10. 


v.  5. — 1 

Chr.  xxii. 

10. 

xi.  26. 

xiii.  6 

vi.  1.— 2 

Chr.  iii.  1 

9 

xi.  42. 

ix.  30 

vi.  12.- 

1  Chr. 

xxii.  10 — 

xi.  43.— 

-Matt.  i.  7. 

13. 

•  xii.  1. — 

-2  Chr.  x.  1. 

vii.  21.- 

-2  Chr. 

iii. 

17. 

xii.  22. 

xi.  2. 

vii.  24. 

iv. 

3. 

xiv.  10. 

— 2  Kings  ix. 

8. 

viii.  1. 

V. 

2. 

xiv.  21. 

— 2  Chr.  xii. 

13. 

viii.  12. 

vi. 

1. 

XV.  1. 

xiii. 

1. 

viii.  22. 

vi. 

12,  &c. 

xv.  7. 

xiii. 

3. 

viii.  46. 

vi. 

36. 

xv.  8. 

xiv. 

1. 

Eccl. 

vii. 

20. 

xv.  13. 

XV. 

16. 

1  John  i. 

8.  10. 

xv.  17. 

xvi. 

1,&C. 

nil.  62.- 

-2  Chr 

.  vii.  4. 

xv.  18. 

xvi. 

2. 

▼iii.  64. 

vii.  7. 

xv.  24. — Matt.  i.  6. 

278  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

21.  I.  &  II.  Chronicles.']  There  are  frequent 
references,  in  the  two  last  and  two  present  books, 
to  certain  books  of  Kings  and  certain  books  of 
Chronicles;  but,  in  many  instances,  there  is  the 
certainty  of  these  not  being  the  very  books  that 
we  have  in  scripture,  and  therefore  other  annals 
which,  however  valuable,  were  not  admitted  into 
the  canon.  It  is  thought  by  some,  however,  that 
there  is  a  reference  to  our  scripture  Chronicles  in 


1  Kings  xvii.  1 . — Luke  iv.  25. 

xvii.  9.  iv.  26. 

xix.  16. — 2  Kings  ix.  1 , 2,  3. 

Luke  iv.  27. 
xxi.  21.— 2  Kings  ix.  8. 

xxi.  23.  ix.  36. 

xxii.  2 — 2  Chr.  xviii.  2,  Sec. 
xxii.  4. — 2  Kings  iii.  7. 
xxii.  41. — 2  Chr.  xx.  31. 

2  Kings  i.10 — 12.. — Luke  ix.54. 

iv.  1 — 8.  iv.  25,26. 

vi.  16. — 2  Chr.  xxxii.  7. 
viii.  16.  xxi.  4. 

viii.  24.  xxii.  1. 

xi.  1.  xxii.  10. 

xi.  4.  xxiii.  1. 

xii.  1.  xxiv.  1. 

xiv.  1.  xxv.  1. 

xiv.  6. — Ezek.  xviii.  20. 
xiv.  19. — 2  Chr.  xxv.  27. 
xiv.  21.  xxvi.  1. 

xiv.  25. — Jonah  i.  1.  * 

xv.  10. — Amos  vii.  9. 
xv.  13— Matt.  i.  8,  9. 

xv.  19 _ 1  Chr.  v.  26,  27. 

xvi.  I . — 2  Chr.  xxviii.  1 ,  &c. 
xvii  33. — Zeph.  i.  5. 
xviii.  1. — 2  Chr.  xxviii.  27. 

xxix.  1. 
Matt.  i.  9. 

xviii.  13.— 2  Chr.  xxxii.  1. 
xviii,  13— Is.  xxxvi.  1. 


2  Kings  xix.  1. — Is.  xxxvii.  1. 

xix.  35.  .  xxxvii.  36. 

xx.  1. — 2  Chr.  xxxii.  24. 

Is.  xxx viii.  1. 

xx.  1 1.  xxxv iii.  8. 

xx.  12.  xxxix.  1. 

xx.  17 — Jer.  xxvii.  22. 

xxi.  1 — 2  Chr.  xxxiii.  I. 

xxi.  4 — Jer.  xxxii.  34. 
xxi.  11.  xv.  4. 

xxi.  18. — 2  Chr.  xxxiii.  20 

xxi.  26. — Matt.  i.10. 

xxii.  1 — 2  Chr.  xxxiv.  1. 

xxiii.  1.  xxxiv.  29. 

xxiii.  21.  xxxv.  1. 

xxiii.  29.  xxxv.  20. 

xxiii.  30.  xxxvi.  1. 

xxiii.  34. — Matt.  i.  11. 

xxiv.  10 _ Dan.  i.  1. 

xxiv.  13 Is.  xxxix.  6. 

xxiv.  15 — 2  Chr.  xxxvi.  10, 

Esther  ii.  6. 

Jer.  xxxvii.  1. 
Iii.  1. 


xxiv.  17- 

xxiv.  18. 

xxv.  1. 


xxv.  3. 
xxv.  13. 
xxv.  17. 
xxv.  22. 
xxv.  23. 
xxv.  26. 


xxxix.  1. 
Iii.  4. 

Iii.  6. 
xxvii.  22. 
Iii.  21. 
xl.  5. 
xl.  7,  &c. 
xii,  1,  2. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  279 

Neh.  xii.  23.  It  is  most  likely  that  there  may 
have  been  copious  annals  of  the  kingdoms  of  Israel 
and  Judah,  which  have  now  perished.  There  was, 
at  the  Jewish  court,  the  special  office  of  a  recorder 
— as  appears  from  2  Samuel  viii.  16  ;  1  Kings  iv.  3 ; 
2  Kings  xviii.  18,  and  1  Chron.  xviii.  15.  Amid 
the  uncertainties  which  obtain,  as  to  the  precise 
writers  of  the  Chronicles  in  the  Bible,  it  may  be 
stated,  as  one  argument  for  the  common  opinion  of 
Ezra  having  written  the  greater  part  of  them — . 
that  the  last  verses  of  the  second  book  of  Chronicles 
and  the  first  verses  of  the  book  of  Ezra  are  iden¬ 
tical.  Still  parts  of  the  compilation  must  have 
been  written  during  the  subsistence  of  the  Jewish 
kingdom — as  is  obvious  from  2  Chron.  v.  9 ; 
viii.  8  ;  x.  19,  and  xxi.  10.  That  they  had  the 
canonical  rank  of  scriptures,  and  were  admitted  to 
that  ark  in  the  temple  from  which  the  Apocrypha 
were  excluded,  is  argued — from  the  use  made  of 
them  in  the  genealogies  of  Matthew  and  Luke — • 
from  the  general  reasons  already  adduced,  in 
which  they  fully  participate — and  from  the  multi¬ 
tude  of  scriptural  references  which  are  made  to 
them,  of  which  we  nowr  offer  a  few  specimens. 
“  Then  the  angel  of  the  Lord  commanded  Gad  to 
say  to  David,  that  David  should  go  up,  and  set  up 
an  altar  unto  the  Lord  in  the  threshing-floor  of 
Oman  the  Jebusite,”  1  Chron  xxi.  18.  “  Then 

Solomon  began  to  build  the  house  of  the  Lord  at 
Jerusalem  in  mount  Moriah,  where  the  Lord  ap¬ 
peared  unto  David  his  father,  in  the  place  that 
David  had  prepared  in  the  threshing-floor  of 
Oman  the  Jebusite, ”  2  Chron.  iii.  1. — “Josiah 


2S0  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

came  to  fight  in  the  valley  of  Megiddo.  And  the 
archers  shot  at  king  Josiah ;  and  the  king  said  to 
his  servants,  Have  me  away;  and  they  brought 
him  to  Jerusalem,  and  he  died:  and  all  Judah 
and  Jerusalem  mourned  for  Josiah,”  2  Chron. 
xxxv.  22 — 24.  <£  In  that  day  shall  there  be  a  great 

mourning  in  Jerusalem,  as  the  mourning  of 
Hadadrimmon  in  the  valley  of  Megiddon,”  Zech. 
xii.  11. — “  And  the  Lord  God  of  their  fathers 
sent  to  them  by  his  messengers,  rising  up  betimes, 
and  sending ;  because  he  had  compassion  on  his 
people,  and  on  his  dwelling-place :  But  they 
mocked  the  messengers  of  God,  and  despised  his 
words,  and  misused  his  prophets,  until  the  wrath 
of  the  Lord  arose  against  his  people,  till  there  was 
no  remedy,”  2  Chr.  xxxvi.  15,  16.  “  From  the 

thirteenth  year  of  Josiah  the  son  of  Amon, 
king  of  Judah,  even  unto  this  day,  (that 
is  the  three  and  twentieth  year,)  the  word  of  the 
Lord  hath  come  unto  me,  and  I  have  spoken  unto 
you,  rising  early  and  speaking ;  but  ye  have  not 
hearkened.  And  the  Lord  hath  sent  unto  you  all 
his  servants  the  prophetg  rising  early  and  sending 
them ;  but  ye  have  not  hearkened,  nor  inclined 
your  ear  to  hear,”  Jer.  xxv.  3,  4.  “  I  have  also 

sent  unto  you  all  the  prophets,  rising  up  early 
and  sending  them ;  but  ye  have  not  inclined  your 

ear,  nor  hearkened  unto  me,”  Jer.  xxxv.  15 _ _ 

“  To  fulfil  the  word  of  the  Lord  by  the  mouth  of 
Jeremiah,  until  the  land  had  enjoyed  her  Sab¬ 
baths  .  foi  as  long  as  she  lay  desolate  she  kept 
.  Sabbaths  to  fulfil  threescore  and  ten  years,”  2 
Chr,  xxxvi.  21.  <c  These  nations  shall  serve  the 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  281 


king  of  Babylon  seventy  years.  And  it  shall  come 
to  pass,  when  seventy  years  are  accomplished,  that 
I  will  punish  the  king  of.  Babylon,  and  that  na¬ 
tion,  saith  the  Lord,”  Jer.  xxv.  11,  12.  “For 
thus  saith  the  Lord,  That  after  seventy  years  be 
accomplished  at  Babylon  I  will  visit  you,  and  per¬ 
form  my  good  word  towards  you,  in  causing  you 
to  return  to  this  place,”  Jer.  xxix.  10.  It  is  ob¬ 
vious  that  the  prophets,  who  lived  prior  to  the 
captivity  must  supply  a  good  many  references  to 
these  historical  books  ;  and,  in  regard  to  the  likely 
authors  of  them,  let  it  be  observed  once  more — 
that  Samuel  and  some  of  the  prophets  in  Acts  iii. 
24,  must  have  had  a  hand  in  their  composition. 
Certain  it  is  of  Samuel,  that  no  prophetical  book, 
in  the  common  sense  of  that  term,  has  been  trans¬ 
mitted  by  him  ;  and  where  then  can  he  have  spoken 
of  the  days  of  the  New  Testament  ?  Surely 
whatever  is  referred  to  as  spoken  by  one  so  ancient, 
must  have  been  written  by  him  also — else  it  would 
’have  perished  from  the  memory  of  the  nation. 
They  who  were  charged  by  the  Saviour  as  slow  in 
heart,  for  not  believing  all  that  the  prophets  had 
spoken,  were  culpable  in  this — that  they  had  not 
attended  to  that  which  was  written  ;  and,  to  repair 
this  defect,  did  our  Saviour  expound  all  which 
was  “  written”  in  Moses,  and  the  Psalms,  and  the 
Prophets  concerning  himself.  In  like  manner  that 
which  was  spoken  by  Joel  (Acts  ii.  16)  was  that 
which  was  written  by  him.  That  which  was 
spoken  of  in  the  prophets  (Acts  xiii.  40)  was  that 
which  was  written  of  in  them,  And  Samuel  and 
the  prophets  that  follow  after,  as  many  as  had 


282 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


spoken,  were  just  as  many  as  had  written — proving 
that  Samuel  and  other  inspired  men,  though  we 
cannot  point  to  the  writings  severally  of  each, 
have,  somewhere  or  other,  had  their  share  in  the 
writings  of  the  Old  Testament.* 

22.  Ezra  and  Nehemiah. f]  These  two  books 
anciently  composed  one  volume.  Ezra  was  a 
ready  scribe  in  the  law  of  Moses ;  and,  by  the 
universal  consent  of  antiquity,  acted  the  part  of  an 
inspired  editor  of  all  the  Jewish  scriptures  that 


*  See  further — 

1  Chr.  i.  24 _ Luke  iii.  36. 

ii.  4. — Matt.  i.  3. 

ii.  9.  i.  3. 

iii.  16,  17.  i.  11,  12. 

v.  2. — Micah  v.  2. 

Matt.  ii.  6. 


vi.  14. — 

Neh 

.  xi.  11. 

xvi. 

8 — 

Ps. 

cv.  1,  &C. 

xvi. 

22. 

cv.  15. 

xvi. 

23. 

xevi.  1. 

xvi. 

34. 

cvi.  1. 

evii.  1. 

cxviii.  1. 

cxxxvi.  1. 

xviii 

.  8. — 2  Chr.  iv.  15. 

xxi. 

30. 

i.  3. 

xxiii 

.  6. 

viii.  14. 

xxix.  25 

xxiii.  13. — Heb.  v.  4. 
xxviii.  4. — Ps.  lxxviii.  68. 
xxviii.  6. — 2  Chr.  i.  9. 

xxix.  11 _ Matt.  vi.  13. 

1  Tim.  i.  17 
Rev.  v.  13. 

xxix.  15. — Ps.  xxxix.  12. 

Heb.  xi.  13. 

1  Pet.  ii.  11. 
Ps.  xc.  9. 

xxix.  25 — 2  Chr.  i.  12. 
f  We  might  remark,  in  passing 
books  both  of  Ezra  and  Daniel, 
Chal  aic  with  the  Hebrew  in  th< 


1  Chr.  xxix.  25 — Eccl.  ii.  9. 

2  Chr.  i.  12  ii.  9. 

iii.  14 — Matt,  xxvii.  51. 
iii.  15. — Jer.  Iii.  21. 

v.  13. — Ps.  cxxxvi. 

vi.  16.  cxxxii.  12. 
vi.  18. — Is.  lxvi.  1. 

Acts  vii.  49. 
xvii.  24. 
vi.  32. — John  xii.  20. 

Acts  viii.  27. 
vi.  36. — Prov.  xx.  29. 
Eccl.  vii.  20. 
James  iii.  2. 

1  John  i.  8. 

vi.  41. — Ps.  cxxxii.  8,  9. 

vii.  21. — Jer.  xxii.  8,  9. 
ix.  1 — Matt.  xii.  42. 

Luke  xi.  31. 

xx.  20 — Is.  vii.  9. 

xxi.  7. — Ps.  cxxxii.  11. 
xxxii.  1,  &c. — Is.  xxxvi.  1, 

&c. 

xxxii.  8.; — Jer.  xvii.  5. 
xxxii.  24. — Is.  xxxviii.  1. 
xxxiii.  7. — Ps.  cxxxii.  14. 
xxxvi.  22. — Ezra  i*  1. 

Jer.  xxv.  12,  13. 
xxix.  10. 

,  a  monumental  evidence  for  the 
in  the  tinge  or  mixture  of  the 
ir  composition. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  283 

were  extant  in  his  time.  That  he  was  the  author 
of  the  book  of  Ezra,  is  collected  from  the  frequent 
occurrence  of  his  name  in  the  first  person.  46  God 
hath  extended  mercy  unto  me  before  the  king; 
and  I  was  strengthened,”  Ezra  vii.  27,  28.  “  And 

at  the  evening  sacrifice,  I  arose  up  from  my  heavi¬ 
ness  ;  and  I  fell  upon  my  knees,”  Ezra  ix.  5. 
The  prayer  is  in  the  first  person ;  and,  when  ended, 
the  narrative  is  resumed  of  Ezra  in  the  third  per¬ 
son  (Ezra  x.  1).  He  uses  the  first  person  also 
in  Ezra  viii.  15,  &c.  The  canonical  authority  of 
this  book  is  argued  from  its  unexcepted  place  in 
all  the  ancient  catalogues — from  the  implication  of 
it  with  the  prophecies  of  Haggai  and  Zechariah — 
and  from  the  illustration  which  it  sheds  on  the 
prophecies  of  both.  Compare  particularly  the 
first  chapter  of  Haggai,  and  the  third  and  fourth 
of  Zechariah  with  the  fifth  chapter  of  Ezra.  And 
there  are  other  scriptural  references  besides  in 
favour  both  of  this  book  and  that  of  Nehemiah. 
“  Thus  saith  Cyrus  king  of  Persia,  The  Lord 
God  of  heaven  hath  given  me  all  the  kingdoms  of 
the  earth ;  and  He  hath  charged  me  to  build  him 
an  house  in  Jerusalem,  which  is  at  Judah,”  Ezra 
i.  2.  “  That  saith  of  Cyrus,  He  is  my  shepherd, 

and  shall  perform  all  my  pleasure ;  even  saying  to 
Jerusalem,  Thou  shalt  be  built ;  and  to  the  temple, 
Thy  foundation  shall  be  laid,”  Is.  xliv.  28.  “  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  to  his  anointed ;  to  Cyrus,  whose 
right  hand  I  have  holden,  to  subdue  nations  be¬ 
fore  him,”  Is.  xlv.  1.  “  I  have  raised  him  up  in 

righteousness,  and  I  will  direct  all  his  ways,” 
Isaiah  xlv.  13 _ “  Then  the  prophets,  Haggai  the 


284  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

prophet,  and  Zechariah  the  son  of  Iddo,  pro¬ 
phesied  unto  the  Jews  that  were  in  Judah  and 
Jerusalem,  in  the  name  of  the  God  of  Israel,  even 
unto  them,”  Ezra  y.  1.  <c  In  the  second  year  of 
Darius  the  king,  in  the  sixth  month,  in  the  first 
day  of  the  month,  came  the  word  of  the  Lord,  by 
Haggai  the  prophet,  unto  Zerubbabel  the  son  of 
Shealtiel,  governor  of  Judah,  and  to  Joshua  the 
son  of  Josedech,  the  high  priest,  saying,”  Haggai 
i«  1.  .  “  In  the  eighth  month,  in  the  second  year 
of  Darius,  came  the  word  of  the  Lord  unto 
Zechariah  the  son  of  Barachiah,  the  son  of  Iddo 
the  prophet,  saying,”  Zech.  i.  L* 

23.  Esther. This  book  is  by  many  ascribed 
to  Mordecai ;  and  he  must  certainly  have  been  the 
original  writer  of,  at  least,  some  of  its  contents. 
See  Esther  ix.  20,  27.  Its  being  said  that  he 
“  wrote  these  things,”  may  possibly  be  an  ascrip¬ 
tion  of  the  whole  book,  or  at  least  the  greater 
part  of  it,  to  him.  We  have  no  very  satisfactory 
or  decisive  references  to  this  book  from  other  parts 
of  scripture.  Its  canonical  authority  rests  on  the 
circumstance,  of  its  having  been  canonized  by  the 
Jews;  and  by  many  of  the  Christian  fathers,  as- 
well  as  the  council  of  Laodicea.  We  cannot 


See  further — . 

Ezra  i.  1. — Jer.  xxv.  12. 

xxix.  10. 

ii.  I. — Nell.  vii.  6. 

ii.  2.  vii.  7. 

ii-  0.  vii.  11. 

ii-  10.  vii.  15. 

ii.  18.  vii.  24. 


Ezra  ii.  40. — Neh.  vii.  43. 
ii.  55.  vii.  57.. 

ii.  57.  vii.  59. 

iii.  2. — Hag',  i.  1. 

Matt.  i.  12. 
Luke  iii.  27. 
vii.  14. — Esther  1.  14. 
Neh.  ix.  29. — Rom.  x.  5. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  285 


assign  for  it  much  of  that  particular  evidence, 
which  we  have  been  employed  in  accumulating,  for 
the  benefit  of  all  the  books  which  go  before  it. 
But  it  shares  with  them  in  the  general  arguments 
adduced  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter — to  which 
might  be  added,  the  certain  chaste  and  simple 
dignity,  which  is  characteristic  of  all  the  canonical 
writings;  and  by  which  they  stand  remarkably 
contrasted  with  the  legendary  and  untasteful  style 
that  often  breaks  forth  in  the  writings,  even  of  the 
best  of  the  Apocryphists. 

24.  Job.~\  We  now  enter  on  the  books  called 
poetical — all  of  which,  along  with  certain  others, 
are  ranked  by  the  Jews  among  the  Hagiographa. 
Should  any  be  led  by  this  to  imagine  a  lower  de¬ 
gree  of  inspiration  for  these  books — then,  to 
countervail  this  injury,  it  is  certain  that,  in  favour 
of  most  of  them,  we  have  the  greatest  amount  of 
scriptural,  which,  we  repute,  is  the  greatest 
amount  of  the  best  sort  of  evidence.  The  de¬ 
positions  of  the  New  Testament  to  the  Psalms, 
and  the  prophecies  of  Daniel,  are  greatly  more 
than  a  counterpoise  to  any  mischief  which  might 
be  apprehended  for  certain  of  the  Old  Testament 
scriptures,  from  the  fanciful  distinctions  of  the 
later  Hebrews — a  distinction,  after  all,  that  pro¬ 
ceeds  more  on  some  imaginary  difference  in  the 
mode  of  inspiration,  than  on  any  difference  in  the 
qualities  of  the  products — the  properties  of  absolute 
authority  and  trueness  being  ascribed,  without 
exception,  by  the  Jews,  to  one  and  all  of  their 
scriptures.  And  we  are  not  to  conceive,  because 
the  interval  between  Esther  and  Isaiah  in  our 


286 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

Bible  is  filled  up  by  the  books  called  poetical,  that 
these  comprise  all  the  sacred  poetry  to  be  found 
in  the  Old  Testament.  The  fifteenth  chapter  of 
Exodus  the  song  of  Moses  in  Deuteronomy,  and 
of  Deborah  and  Hannah  in  the  books  of  Judges 
and  Samuel — the  lamentation  of  David  over  Saul 
and  Jonathan,  with  those  other  effusions  of  his  in 
the  seventh  chapter  of  2  Samuel,  and  the  six¬ 
teenth  of  1  Chronicles — beside  the  many  enrapt 
compositions  of  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Jonah,  Habak- 
kuk,  and  others—are  all  in  the  strain  and  spirit  of 
highest  poetry.  That  such  a  mode  of  composition 
is  not  inconsistent  with  the  purposes  of  revela¬ 
tion,  is  obvious  from  the  repeated  sanctions  given 
in  scripture  both  to  music  and  poetry — as  in  the 
service  of  the  temple— and  even  in  the  New 
Testament,  where  we  are  recommended  to  the  use 
of  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs ;  and 
thus  to  make  melody  in  our  hearts  to  the  Lord. 
The  book  of  Job,  however,  is  the  first  of  those 
books,  in  the  order  of  our  Bible,  to  the  whole  of 
which  the  designation  of  poetical  is  given.  His 
character  as  an  inspired  man  seems  to  be  decisively 
attested,  both  by  Ezekiel  and  James — particularly 
the  former,  when  he  ranks  him  with  the  patriarch 
Noah  and  the  prophet  Daniel.  “  Though  these 
three  men,  Noah,  Daniel,  and  Job,  were  in  it, 
they  should  deliver  but  their  own  souls  by  their 
righteousness,  saith  the  Lord  God,”  Ezekiel  xiv.  14, 
and  again  in  verse  20.  “  Ye  have  heard  of  the 

patience  of  Job,  and  have  seen  the  end  of  the 
Lord,”  James  v.  1 1— a  testimony  which  seems  to 
establish  the  literal  truth  of  the  history,  in  opposi 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  287 


tion  to  those  who  conceive  it  to  be  a  mere  dramatic 


representation^  But  whatever  uncertainties  may 
attach  to  the  man,  it  is  enough  for  our  purpose, 
that  we  have  evidence  for  the  book.  And,  beside 
the  exscriptural  evidence,  which  it  shares  in  equally 
with  all  the  others,  there  is  enough  to  establish 
the  canonical  authority  of  the  book  of  Job,  in  the 
testimonies  of  the  sacred  writers.  Of  these,  the 
one  we  should  single  out  as  the  most  distinct  and 
decisive,  is  that  by  Paul  in  the  first  epistle  to  the 
Corinthians.  “  He  taketh  the  wise  in  their  own 
craftiness,”  Job  v.  13.  “For  it  is  written,  He 
taketh  the  wise  in  their  own  craftiness,”  1  Cor. 
iii.  19.  St.  Paul  tells  us  of  this  passage  that  “it 
is  written” — or,  which  is  tantamount  to  this,  that, 
“  we  have  it  in  scripture” — thus  making  the  book 
of  Job  from  which  the  quotation  is  taken,  part  and 
parcel  of  scripture.* 


*  See  furthor — 

Job  i.  7. — 1  Pet.  5.  8. 
i.  21. — Eccl.  v.  15. 

1  Tim.  vi.  7. 

iii.  3. — Jer.  xx.  14. 

iv.  8. — Prov.  xxii.  8. 

Hos.  x.  13. 

iv.  9. — Is.  xxx.  33. 

v.  12 - Ps.  xxxiii.  10. 

v.  14 — Deut.  xxviii.  29. 
v.  16 — Ps.  cvii.  42. 

v.  17. — Prov.  iii.  12. 
Heb.  xii.  5. 

v.  18 — I  Sam.  ii.  6. 

Hos.  vi.  1. 

vi.  4 — Ps.  xxxviii.  2. 

vii.  17. — Ps.  viii.  4. 

cxliv.  3. 

viii.  9.— 1  Chr.  xxix.  15. 

Ps.  cxliv.  4. 
viii.  18 — Prov.  x.  28. 


Job  ix.  9 — Amos  v.  8. 

xiii.  26 — Ps.  xxv.  7. 

xiv.  4.  li.  5. 

xiv.  16.  cxxxix.  2,  3. 

xv.  8. — Rom.  xi.  34. 

xv.  35 - Ps.  vii.  14. 

Is.  lix.  4. 
xix.  19.; — Ps.  xli.  9. 

Iv.  13,  14. 

xix.  29. — Rom.  xiii,  4. 
xxi. — Ps.  lxxiv. 
xxi.  5. — Mic.  vii.  16. 

xxi.  30 — Prov.  xvi.  4. 

xxii.  19 — Ps.  cvii.  42. 
xxii.  29. — James  iv.  10 

1  Pet.  v.  6. 

xxvi.  6 — Prov.  xv.  11. 

xxvii.  8 - Matt.  xvi.  26. 

xxvii.  15. — Ps.  lxxviii.  64. 
xxviii.  15. — Prov.  iii.  13,  14. 

viii.  10,  11,  19. 


288  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

25.  Psalms .]  The  fulness  of  the  evidence  be 
comes  now  oppressive  to  him  who  has  undertaken 
the  office,  at  once  to  exhibit  and  condense  it. 
Never  were  the  existence,  and  the  contents,  and 
even  in  some  instances  the  order  and  arrangement 
of  any  ancient  book  more  decisively  established  by 
the  testimony  of  succeeding  books,  than  is  this 
collection  of  sacred  poems  by  the  various  writers 
of  the  New  Testament — and  that  by  numerous 
undoubted  citations  often  accompanied,  with  an 
express  statement,  both  of  the  work  from  whence 
they  have  been  taken,  and  of  the  author  of  the 
work.  One  cannot  doubt,  from  the  frequent  use 
of  these  compositions  in  the  service  of  the  temple, 
of  the  frequent  multiplication  of  their  copies  (to 
be  found,  therefore  in  many  hands)  from  the  auto¬ 
graph  that  was  deposited  there.  We  have  already, 
in  §  9,  given  a  few  instances  of  the  recognition  of 
the  Psalms  by  Christ  and  His  Apostles;  but  we 
crave  the  indulgence  of  our  readers,  if  both  in  this 
Dook  and  in  that  of  Isaiah,  we  shall  present  a  more 
copious  collection  of  these,  than  some  perhaps  may 
have  the  patience  to  examine.  “Why do  the  heathen 
rage,  and  the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing  ?  The 
kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take 
counsel  together  against  the  Lord,  and  against 


Job  xxviii.  15. — Prov.  xvi.  16. 

xxviii.  28 _ Ps.  cxi.  10. 

Prov.  i.  7,  &  ix.  10. 
xxx.  9. — Ps.  lxix.  12. 

xxx.  25.  xxxv.  13. 

xxxi.  6 - Prov.  v.  21. 

xxxiii.  20. — Ps.  cvii.  18. 
xxxv.  7.  xvi.  2. 


Job  xxxv.  7 — Rom.  xi.  35. 
xxxvi.  11,  12 — Is.  i.  19,  20. 
xxxviii.  4 — Ps.  civ.  5. 
xxxviii.  10. — Prov.  viii.  29. 
xxxviii.  41. — Ps.  cxlvii.  9. 

Matt.  vi.  26. 

xxiv.  28.* 
Luke  xvii.  37. 


xxxix.  30. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  289 

His  Anointed,”  Psalm  ii.  1,2.  44  Who  by  the 

2101th  of  Thy  servant  David  hast  said,  Why  did 
trie  heathen  rage,  and  the  people  imagine  vain 
tilings  ?  The  kings  of  the  earth  stood  up,  and 
tne  rulers  were  gathered  together,  against  the 
Lord,  and  against  his  Christ,”  Acts  iv.  25,  26. — 
44  Thou  art  my  Son ;  this  day  have  I  begotten 
thee.  Ask  of  me,  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  hea- 
tnen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth  for  thy  possession,”  Psalm  ii.  7,  8. 
•'*  As  it  is  also  written  in  the  second  Psalm,  Thou 
art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  Thee,”  Acts 
xiii.  33,  Heb.  i.  5. — 44  Their  throat  is  an  open 
sepulchre ;  they  flatter  with  their  tongue,”  Psalm 
v.  9.  44  Their  throat  is  an  open  sepulchre  ;  with 

their  tongues  they  have  used  deceit,”  Rom.  iii.  13. 
— 44  Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings  hast 
thou  ordained  strength,”  Psalm  viii.  2.  44  And 

Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Yea  have  ye  never  read, 
Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings  thou  hast 

perfected  praise,”  Matt.  xxi.  16 _ 44  What  is  man, 

that  thou  art  mindful  of  him?  and  the  son  of  man, 
that  thou  visitest  him?  For  thou  hast  made  him 
a  little  low’er  than  the  angels,  and  hast  crowned 
him  with  glory  and  honour.  Thou  madest  him  to 
have  dominion  over  the  works  of  thy  hand,”  Psalm 
viii.  4,  5,  6.  44  But  one  in  a  certain  place  testified, 

saying,  What  is  man  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him  ? 
or  the  son  of  man  that  thou  visitest  him  ?  Thou 
madest  him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels ,  thou 
crownedst  him  with  glory  and  honour,  and  didst 
set  him  over  the  works  of  thy  hands,”  Heb.  ii. 
6,  7. — 44  Thou  hast  put  all  things  under  his  feet,” 

VOL.  IV.  N 


290 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


Psalm  viii.  6.  44  For  he  hath  put  all  things  under 

his  feet,”  1  Cor.  xv.  27.  44  Thou  hast  put  afl 

things  in  subjection  under  his  feet,”  Heb.  ii.  8 _ . 

“  His  mouth  is  full  of  cursing  and  deceit,”  Psalm 
x.  7.  44  Whose  mouth  is  full  of  cursing  and  bitter¬ 

ness,”  Romans  iii.  14. — 44  They  are  all  gone  aside: 
they  are  all  together  become  filthy :  there  is  none  that 
doeth  good,  no,  not  one,”  Psalm  xiv.  3.  44  They 

are  all  gone  out  of  the  way,  they  are  together  be¬ 
come  unprofitable  ;  there  is  none  that  doeth  good, 
no,  not  one,”  Rom.  iii.  12. — 44 1  have  set  the  Lord 
always  before  me  ;  because  he  is  at  my  right  hand 
I  shall  not  be  moved.  Therefore  my  heart  is 
glad,  and  my  glory  rejoiceth ;  my  flesh  also  shall 
rest  in  hope  ;  For  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in 
hell ;  neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thine  holy  one  to  see 
corruption,”  &c.  Psalm  xvi.  8—10,  &c.  44  For 

David  speaketh  concerning  him,  I  foresaw  the 
Lord  always  before  my  face ;  for  he  is  .on  my 
right  hand,  that  I  should  not  be  moved :  Therefore 
did  my  heart  rejoice,  and  my  tongue  was  glad, 
moreover,  also  my  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope  ;  because 
thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell ;  neither  wilt 
thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption,” 
&c.  Acts  ii.  25 — 27,  &c. — 44  Therefore  will  I  give 
thanks  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  among  the  heathen, 
and  sing  praises  unto  thy  name,”  Ps.  xviii.  49. 

4  ‘  As  it  is  written,  For  this  cause  I  will  confess  tc 
thee  among  the  Gentiles,  and  sing  unto  thy  name,” 
Rom.  xv.  9 — 44  They  part  my  garments  among 
them,  and  cast  lots  upon  my  vesture,”  Ps.  xxii.  18. 

44  That  the  scripture  might  be  fulfilled  which  saith. 
They  parted  my  raiment  among  them,  and  for  my 


ESPECIALLY  of  the  old  TESTAMENT,  291 


vesture  they  did  cast  lots,”  John  xix.  24 _ “  I  will 

declare  thy  name  unto  my  brethren:  in  the  midst 
of  the  congregation  will  I  praise  thee,”  Ps.  xxii. 
22.  “  Saying  (Jesus),  I  will  declare  thy  name 

unto  my  brethren  :  in  the  midst  of  the  church  will 

I  sing  praise  unto  thee,”  Heb.  ii.  12 _ “  Blessed 

is  he  whose  transgression  is  forgiven,  whose  sin  is 
covered.  Blessed  is  the  man  unto  whom  the  Lord 
imputeth  not  iniquity,  and  in  whose  spirit  there  is 
no  guile,  Ps.  xxxii.  1,  2.  u  Even  as  David  also 
describeth — saying,  Blessed  are  they  whose  ini¬ 
quities  are  forgiven,  and  whose’  sins  are  covered. 
Blessed  is  the  man  to  whom  the  Lord  will  not 
impute  sin,  Rom.  iv.  6 — 8. — “  There  is  no  fear 


of  God  before  their  eyes,”  Ps.  xxxvi.  1.  “  It  is 

written,  J  here  is  no  fear  of  God  before  their  eye%” 
Rom.  iii.  10,  18. — “  Sacrifice  and  offering  thou 
didst  not  desire;  mine  ears  hast  thou  opened: 
burnt  offering  and  sin-offering  hast  thou  not  re¬ 
quired.  Then  said  I,  Lo,  I  come :  in  the  volume 


of  the  book  it  is  written  of  me,  I  delight  to  do  thy 
will,  O  my  God,”  Ps.  xl.  6 — 8.  “  Wherefore,  he 
saith  (Christ),  Sacrifice  and  offering  thou  wouldst 
not,  but  a  body  hast  thou  prepared  for  me  :  In 
burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices  for  sin  thou  hast  had 
no  pleasure.  Then  said  I,  Lo,  I  come  (in  the 
volume  of  the  book  it  is  written  of  me)  to  do  thy 
will,  O  God,”  Heb.  x.  5—7.—“  Yea,  mine  own 
familiar  friend  in  whom  I  trusted,  which  did  eat  of 
my  bread,  hath  lifted  up  his  heel  against  me,”  Ps. 
xli.  9.  “That  the  scripture  may  be  fulfilled. 
He  that  eateth  bread  with  me  hath  lifted  up  his 
heel  against  me,/  John  xiii.  18. — Yea,  for  thy  sake 


292 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


are  we  killed  all  the  day  long ;  we  are  counted  as 
sheep  for  the  slaughter/’  Ps.  xliv.  22.  44  As  it  is 

written,  For  thy  sake  we  are  killed  all  the  day 
long ;  we  are  accounted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter,'* 
Rom.  viii.  36. — 44  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  for 
ever  and  ever :  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom  is 
a  right  sceptre.  Thou  lovest  righteousness,  and 
hatest  wickedness ;  therefore  God  thy  God  hath 
anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy 
fellows,”  Ps.  xlv.  6,  7.  “  He  (God)  saith,  Thy 

throne,  O  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever  :  a  sceptre  of 
righteousness  is  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom  :  Thou 
hast  loved  righteousness,  and  hated  iniquity :  there¬ 
fore  God,  even  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee  with 
the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows,”  Heb.  i.  8,  9. 
— 4 4  Thou  hast  ascended  on  high,  thou  hast  led 
captivity  captive,  thou  hast  received  gifts  for  men,” 
Ps.  lxviii.  18.  44  Wherefore  he  (Christ)  saith, 

When  he  ascended  up  on  high,  he  led  captivity 

captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto  men,”  Eph.  iv.  8 _ 

44  For  the  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me  up  ; 
and  the  reproaches  of  them  that  reproached  thee 
are  fallen  upon  me,”  Ps.  lxix.  9.  44  And  his  dis¬ 

ciples  remembered  that  it  was  written,  The  zeal 
of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me  up,”  John  ii.  17. 
44  As  it  is  written,  The  reproaches  of  them  that 

reproached  thee  fell  on  me,”  Rom.  xv.  3 _ 44  In 

my  thirst,  they  gave  me  vinegar  to  drink,”  Ps. 
lxix.  21.  44  Jesus,  that  the  scripture  might  be  ful¬ 

filled,  saith,  I  thirst ;  and  they  filled  a  sponge  with 
vinegar,”  John  xix.  28,  29 — 44  Let  their  table  be¬ 
come  a  snare  before  them  ;  and  that  which  should 
have  been  for  their  welfare,  let  it  become  a  trap 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  293 

Let  their  eyes  be  darkened  that  they  see  not ;  and 
make  their  loins  continually  to  shake,”  Ps.  lxix. 
22,  23.  “  And  David  saith,  Let  their  table  be 

made  a  snare  and  a  trap,  and  a  stumbling-block, 
and  a  recompense  unto  them :  Let  their  eyes  be 
darkened  that  they  may  not  see,  and  bow  down 

their  back  alway,”  Rom.  xi.  9,  10 _ “  Let  then- 

habitation  be  desolate  ;  and  let  none  dwell  in  their 
tents,  Ps.  lxix.  25.  “For  it  is  written  in  the 
book  of  Psalms,  Let  his  habitation  be  desolate,  and 

let  no  man  dwell  therein,”  Acts  i.  20 _ “  I  will  open 

my  mouth  in  a  parable  ;  I  will  utter  dark  sayings 
of  old,”  Ps.  lxxviii.  2.  “  That  it  might  be  fulfilled 
which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet,  saying,  I  will 
open  my  mouth  in  parables;  I  will  utter  things 
which  have  been  kept  secret  from  the  foundation 

of  the  world,”  Matt.  xiii.  35 _ “  I  have  said,  Ye 

are  gods,”  Ps.  lxxxii.  6.  “  Jesus  answered  them, 

Is  it  not  written  in  your  law,  I  said,  Ye  are  gods  ?” 
John  x.  34. — “  For  he  shall  give  his  angels  charge 
over  thee,  to  keep  thee  in  all  thy  ways.  They 
shall  bear  thee  up  in  their  hands,  lest  thou  dash 
thy  foot  against  a  stone,”  Ps.  xci.  li,  12.  “  It  is 

written,  He  shall  give  his  angels  charge  concern¬ 
ing  thee  :  and  in  their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee 
up,  lest  at  any  time  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a 

stone,”  Matt.  iv.  6.  See  also  Luke  iv.  10,  11 _ 

“  The  Lord  knoweth  the  thoughts  of  man  that 
they  are  vanity,”  Ps.  xciv.  11.  “It  is  written. 
The  Lord  knoweth  the  thoughts  of  the  wise  that 
they  are  vain,”  1  Cor.  iii.  20. — “  To-day,  if  ye 
will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts,  as  in 
the  provocation,  and  as  in  the  day  of  temptation 


294 


ON  THE  CANQN  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


in  the  wilderness,  When  your  fathers  tempted  me, 

proved  me,  and  saw  my  work,”  &c.  Ps.  xev.  7 _ 9, 

&c.  <c  As  the  Holy  Ghost  saith,  To-day,  if  ye 
will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts,  as  in 
the  provocation,  in  the  day  of  temptation  in  the 
wilderness ;  When  your  fathers  tempted  me,  proved 
me,  and  saw  my  works  forty  years,”  &c.  Heb.  iii. 
7 — 9,  &c.  See  also  Heb.  iv.  7. — “  Of  old  hast 
thou  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth ;  and  the 
heavens  are  the  work  of  thy  hands.  They  shall 
perish,  but  thou  shalt  endure ;  yea,  all  of  them 
shall  wax  old  like  a  garment ;  as  a  vesture  shalt 
thou  change  them,  andi  they  shall  be  changed. 
But  thou  art  the  same,  and  thy  years  shall  have 
no  end/’  Ps.  cii.  25—27.  “  He  (God)  saith, 

Thou,  Lord,  in  the  beginning  hast  laid  the  founda¬ 
tion  of  the  earth ;  and  the  heavens  are  the  works 
of  thine  hands.  They  shall  perish,  but  thou  re- 
mainest ;  and  they  all  shall  wax  old  as  doth  a  gar¬ 
ment  i  and  as  a  vesture  shalt  thou  fold  them  up, 
and  they  shall  be  changed  :  but  thou  art  the  same,' 

and  thy  years  shall  not  fail,"  Heb.  i.  10—12 _ 

Who  maketh  his  angels  spirits,  his  ministers  a 
flaming  fire,”  Ps.  civ.  4.  “  And  of  the  angels  he 

(God)  saith,  Who  maketh  his  angels  spirits,  and 
his  ministers  a  flame  of  fire,,,  Heb.  i.  7. —  “  They 
compassed  me  about  also  with  words  of  hatred ; 
and  fought  against  me  without  a  cause,”  Ps.  cix. 

“  But  this  cometh  to  pass,  that  the  word  might 
be  fulfilled  that  is  written  in  their  law,  They  hated 
me  without  a  cause,  John  xv.  25. — <c  Let  another 
take  his  office,  Ps.  cix.  8.  u  For  it  is  written  in 
the  book  of  Psalms,  His  bishopric  let  another  take,” 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  295 

Acts  i.  20. — “  The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  sit 
thou  at  my  right  hand,  until  I  make  thine  enemies 
thy  footstool,”  Ps.  cx.  1.  “  He  (Christ)  saith 

unto  them,  How  then  doth  David  in  spirit  call  him 
Lord  ?  saying,  The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit 
thou  on  my  right  hand,  till  I  make  thine  enemies 
thy  footstool,”  Matt.  xxii.  43,  44.  “  For  David 

himself  said  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  The  Lord  said 
to  my  Lord,  Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand,  till 

1  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool,”  Mark  xii. 
36.  <c  And  David  himself  saith  in  the  book 
of  Psalms,  the  Lord  said  to  my  Lord,  Sit  thou 
on  my  right  hand,  till  I  make  thine  enemies 
thy  footstool,”  Luke  xx.  42,  43.  See  also  Heb.  i. 
13. — “  Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever,  after  the  order 
of  Melchizedek,”  Psalms  cx.  4.  “  As  he  saith  also 
in  another  place,  Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever, 
after  the  order  of  Melchizedec,”  Heb.  v.  6.  “For 
He  testifieth,  Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever,  after 
the  order  of  Melchizedec,”  Heb.  vii  17. — “He 
hath  dispersed;  he  hath  given  to  the  poor;  his 
righteousness  endureth  for  ever.”  Ps.  cxii.  9.  “As 
it  is  written,  He  hath  dispersed  abroad ;  he  hath 
given  to  the  poor;  his  righteousness  remaineth 
for  ever,”  2  Cor.  ix.  9. —  “  I  believed,  therefore 
have  I  spoken,”  Ps.  cxvi.  10.  “According  as  it 
is  written,  I  believed,  and  therefore  have  I  spoken,” 

2  Cor.  iv.  13. — “  0  praise  the  Lord,  all  ye  nations: 

praise  him,  all  ye  people,”  Ps.  cxvii.  1.  “  It  is 

written,  Praise  the  Lord,  all  ye  Gentiles  ;  and  laud 
him  all  ye  people,”  Rom.  xv.  11. — “The  stone 
which  the  builders  refused  is  become  the  head¬ 
stone  of  the  corner.  This  is  the  Lord’s  doing; 


296  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes,”  Ps.  cxviii.  22,  23. 
**  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Did  ye  never  read  in  the 
scriptures,  1  he  stone  which  the  builders  rejected, 
the  same  is  become  the  head  of  the  corner ;  this  is 
the  Lord’s  doing,  and  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes,” 
Matth.  xxi.  42.  See  also  Mark  xii.  19,  11;  Luke 
xx.  17. — “  The  Lord  hath  sworn  in  truth  unto 
David ;  he  will  not  turn  from  it ;  of  the  fruit  of  thy 
body  will  I  set  upon  thy  throne,”  Ps.  cxxxii.  11. 
“  ^  herefore  (David)  being  a  prophet,  and  know¬ 
ing  that  God  had  sworn  with  an  oath  to  him,  that 
of  the  fruit  of  his  loins,  according  to  the  flesh,  he 
would  raise  up  Christ  to  sit  on  his  throne,”  Acts 
ii.  30. — “Adder’s  poison  is  under  their  lips,”  Psal. 
cxl.  3.  “It  is  written,  The  poison  of  asps  is  under 
their  lips,”  Rom.  iii.  13.* 


*  See  further — 

IVi.  3. — Jer.  xvii.  8. 
ii.  9. — Rev.  ii.  27. 

xii.  5. 

vi.  8. — Matt.  vii.  23. 

Luke  xiii.  27. 

xi.  4. — Hab.  ii.  20. 

xii.  6 — Prov.  xxx.  5. 
xv.  2. — Is.  xxxiii.  15. 

xv.  5. — Ezelc.  xviii.  8. 

xvi.  5. — Lam.  iii.  24. 
xvi.  10 — Acts  xiii.  35. 
xix.  4. — Rom.  x.  18. 
xxii.  1. — Matt,  xxvii.  46. 

Mark  xv.  34. 
xxii.  7. — Matt,  xxvii.  39. 
xxii.  16.  xxvii.  35. 

Mark  xv.  24. 
Luke  xxiii.  33. 
John  xix.  23,  37. 
xxii.  18 — Matt,  xxvii.  35. 
Mark  xv.  24. 
Luke  xxiii.  34. 


Ps.  xxii.  18. — John  xix.  23,  24. 
xxiv.  1 — 1  Cor.  x.  26,  28. 

xxiv.  4 — Is.  xxxiii.  15,  16. 

xxv.  2 — Rom.  x.  11. 
xxv iii.  3.— Jer.  ix.  8. 
xxxi.  5. — Luke  xxiii.  46. 
xxxi.  19 — Is.  Ixiv.  4. 

1  Cor.  ii.  9. 
xxxii.  5. — 1  John  i.  9. 
xxxiii.  11 — Prov.  xix.  21. 
xxxiii.  18 — 1  Pet.  iii.  12. 
xxxiv.  12.  iii.  io. 

xxxiv.  15.  iii.  12. 

xxxv.  5 — Hos.  xiii.  3. 
xxxvii.  3. — Prov.  xxiv.  1,19. 
xxxvii.  5.  xvi.  3. 

1  Pet.  v.  7. 
xxxvii.  11. — Matt.  v.  5. 
xxxix.  12.— 1  Chr.  xxix.  16 
'  Heb.  xi.  13. 
xl.  6. — Is.  i.  1 1 . 
xlix.  4.— Matt.  xiii.  35. 
liii.  1. — Rom.  iii, 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  297 

26.  Proverbs.']  In  the  direct  history  of  Solo, 
raon,  we  read  both  of  his  Proverbs  and  of  his 
Songs.  (1  Kings  iv.  32).  And  we  are  further  in¬ 
formed  by  certain  proverbs  in  this  collection,  that 
they  were  copied  out  by  the  men  of  Hezekiah. 
(Prov.  xxv.  1).  That  Solomon  their  author  re¬ 
ceived  preternatural  communications  from  heaven, 
is  affirmed  more  than  once  in  the  history  of  his 
liie.  (1  Kings  iii.  5;  ix.  2).  His  wisdom  is 

adverted  to  by  our  Saviour  in  Matt.  xii.  42, _ 

v  hen  he  spake  of  the  queen  of  Sheba’s  visit  to 
him.  That  they  were  mainly,  if  not  universally, 
the  productions  of  Solomon,  is  evident,  not  from 
their  extrinsic,  but,  what  is  much  stronger,  their 
incorporated  title  in  the  first  verse  of  the  first 
chapter — that  kind  of  title,  which  is  denominated 
eyygccpog,  and  of  which  we  have  many  examples, 
in  the  books  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament. 
When  any  of  the  sayings  in  this  book  of  Proverbs 


Ps.  Iv.  22. — 1  Pet.  v.  7. 

Ixix.  21. — Matt,  xxvii.  48. 
Mark  xv.  23. 

John  xix.  29. 
lxxviii.  15. — 1  Cor.  x.  4. 
lxxviii.  24. — John  vi.  31. 

Ixxix.  6 _ Jer.  x.  25. 

lxxxi.  12 _ Acts  xiv.  16. 

lxxxix.  20.  xiii.  22. 

lxxxix.  36. — Luke  i.  33. 

John  xii.  34. 
xc.  4. — 2  Pet.  iii.  8. 
xciv.  9.— Prov.  xx.  12. 
xcvii.  7. — Heb.  i.  6. 
xcviii.  2. —  Is.  Iii.  10. 
cr.  1. — 1  Chr.  xvi.  8. 

Is.  xii.  4. 

cv.  9 — ^uke  l.  73. 
cvii.  35. — Is.  xii.  18. 

N  2 


!  Ps.  cx.  1 — Acts  ii.  34. 

1  Cor.  xv.  25. 
cxi.  10.— Prov.  i.  7. 

ix.  10. 

cxiii.  3. — Mai.  i.  11. 
cxiii.  7. — 1  Sam.  ii.  8. 
cxviii.  6. — Heb.  xiii.  6. 
cxviii.  22. — Acts  iv.  11. 

1  Pet.  ii.  4. 

cxviii.  26 — Matt.  xxi.  9. 
cxix.  21.— Heb.  xi.  13. 
cxix.  139. — Johnii.  17. 
cxxxii.  8. — 2  Chr.  vi.  41. 
cxxxii.  11. — Luke  i.  69. 
cxxxix.  12.— Heb.  iv.  13. 
cxliv.  1.— 2  Sam.  xxii.  35. 
cxliv.  2.  xxii.  2,  3 

cxliv.  3 — Heb.  ii.  6. 


298  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

are  alleged  in  the  New  Testament,  it  is  not  most 
assuredly  according  to  the  manner  in  which  Christ 
or  His  apostles  would  quote  a  merely  human  com¬ 
position — but  with  the  obvious  respect  due  to 
canonical  scriptures.  The  following  are  a  few  in¬ 
stances. — 44  For  their  feet  run  to  evil,  and  make 
haste  to  shed  blood,”  Prov.  i.  16.  44  Their  feet 

run  to  evil,  and  they  make  haste  to  shed  innocent 
blood,”  Isaiah  lix.  7.  4 4  It  is  written,  their  feet 

are  swift  to  shed  blood,”  Rom.  iii.  15. — 44  My  son, 
despise  not  the  chastening  of  the  Lord ;  neither 
be  weary  of  his  correction:  For  whom  the  Lord 
loveth  he  correcteth,  even  as  a  father  the  son  in 
whom  he  delighteth,”  Prov.  iii.  11,  12.  44  And 

ye  have  forgotten  the  exhortation,  which  speaketh 
unto  you  as  unto  children,  My  son,  despise  not 
thou  the  chastening  of  the  Lord,  nor  faint  when 
thou  art  rebuked  of  him :  For  whom  the  Lord 
loveth  he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son 
whom  he  receiveth,”  Heb.  xii.  5,  6. — 44  Surely  he 
scorneth  the  scorners :  but  he  giveth  grace  unto 
the  lowly,”  Prov.  iii.  34.  44  Wherefore  he  saith, 

God  resisteth  the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  unto 

the  humble,”  James  iv.  6 _ 44  Love  covereth  all 

sins,”  Prov.  x.  12.  44  Charity  shall  cover  the 

multitude  of  sins,”  1  Peter  iv.  8.  The  following 
is  very  distinct  and  decisive. — 44  If  thine  enemy  be 
hungry,  give  him  bread  to  eat ;  and  if  he  be  thirsty, 
give  him  water  to  drink.  For  thou  shalt  heap 
coals  of  fire  upon  his  head,  and  the  Lord  shall 
reward  thee,”  Prov.  xxv.  21,  22.  “Dearly  be¬ 
loved,  avenge  not  yourselves ;  but  rather  give 
place  unto  wrath :  for  it  is  written,  Vengeance  is 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  299 


mine ;  I  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord.  Therefore, 
if  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him  ;  if  he  thirst,  give 
him  drink :  for  in  so  doing,  thou  shalt  heap  coals 
of  fire  on  his  head,”  Rom.  xii.  19,  20. — “  As  a 
dog  returneth  to  his  vomit ;  so  a  fool  returneth  to 
his  folly,”  Prov.  xxvi.  11.  “But  it  is  happened 
unto  them  according  to  the  true  proverb,  The  dog 
is  turned  to  his  own  vomit  again ;  and,  The  sow 
that  was  washed,  to  her  wallowing  in  the  mire,” 
2  Peter  ii.  22.* 

27.  Ecclesiastes. In  regard  to  the  human 


*  See  further — 

Prov.  i.  24 — Is.  lxv.  12. 

Ixvi.  4. 

Jer.  vii.  13. 

i.  28. — Is.  i.  15. 

Jer.  xi.  11. 

xiv.  12. 

Mic.  iii.  4. 

Zech.  vii  13. 

ii.  4. — Matt.  xiii.  44. 

ii.  6. — James  i.  5. 

iii.  7. — Rom.  xii.  16. 

iii.  9. — Mai.  iii.  10. 
iii.  12 — Rev.  iii.  19. 
iii.  34. — 1  Pet.  v.  5. 
vi.  18. — Rom.  iii.  15. 
vi.  25.— Matt.  v.  28. 
ix.  8.  .  vii.  6. 

xi.  25. — 1  Cor.  ix.  8,  9,  10. 

xii.  4.  xi.  7.  . 

xv.  8. — Is.  i.  11. 

Jer.  vi.  20. 

vii.  22. 

Amos  v.  22. 
xv.  16. — 1  Tim.  vi.  6. 
xv.  24. — Phil.  iii.  20. 

Col.  iii.  1,  2. 
xvii.  13. — Rom.  xii.  17. 

1  Thess.  v.  15. 

1  Pet.  iii.  9. 

Xvii.  15.— Is.  v.  23.  . 


Prov.  xvii.  27. — James  i.  19. 

xix.  10. — Eccl.  x.  6,  7. 

xix.  17. — Matt.  x.  42. 

xxv.  40. 

2  Cor.  ix.  6,  7. 

xx.  9. — 1  John  i.  8. 

xx.  20.— Matt.  xv.  4. 

Mark  vii.  10. 

xx.  22. — Rom.  12.  17. 

1  Thess.  v.  15. 

1  Pet.  iii.  9. 

xxi.  3. — Mic.  vi.  7,  8. 

xxi.  22 — Eccl.  ix.  14,  Sso 

xxii.  1.  vii.  1. 

xxii.  8. — Hos.  x.  13. 
xxii.  9. — 2  Cor.  ix.  6. 
xxiii.  29. — Is.  v.  11. 
xxv.  7. — Luke  xiv.  10. 
xxv.  9 — Matt.  v.  25. 

xviii.  15. 

xxvii.  1, — James  iv.  13,  &c. 
xxvii.  20 — Eccl.  i.  8. 
xx  vii  i.  13 — 1  Johni.  9,  10. 
xxviii.  20. — 1  Tim.  vi.  9. 

xxix.  23 — Matt,  xxiii.  1 2. 

Luke  xiv.  11. 

xxx.  4. — John  iii.  13. 

Isaiah  xl.  12,  &c. 
xxx.  6. — Rev.  xxii.  18,  19 

XXX.  ft— Matt.  vL  11, 


300 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


uthorship  of  this  book,  though  not  ascribed  to 
•Solomon  by  name,  it  is  by  undoubted  designation 
— and  that,  within  the  limits,  of  the  work  itself, 
which  begins  with  the  announcement  of  its  own 
parentage,  as  £C  The  words  of  the  Preacher,  the 
son  of  David,  king  of  Jerusalem.”  And  not  by 
designation  only  is  it  fastened  upon  Solomon — but 
by  description  also,  applicable  to  him,  and  not  so 
applicable  to  any  other  of  whom  we  know. — “  And 
moreover,  because  the  Preacher  was  wise,  he  still 
taught  the  people  knowledge ;  yea,  he  gave  good 
heed,  and  sought  out,  and  set  in  order  many  pro¬ 
verbs.”*  And  that  he  was  the  author,  of  the 
words  as  well  as  of  the  thoughts — the  writer  as 
well  as  the  conceiver  of  this  book — seems  very 
obvious  from  chap.  xii.  10.  This  does  not  exclude, 
however,  the  idea  of  an  amanuensis,  which  detracts 
not  in  the  least  from  the  full  authorship — arty 
more  than  it  does  from  the  authorship  of  Paul, 
that  he  did  not  write  manually  every  word  of  his 
epistles.|  We  have  the  general  consent  both  of 
Jews  and  Christians  for  the  canonical  authority  of 
this  book ;  and  though  we  can  allege  no^express 
quotation  from  it  in  the  other  scriptures — yet  such 
are  the  resemblances,  if  not  the  references,  which 
might  be  found  in  it,  that,  from  within  the  work 
itself,  we  can  offer  some  things  to  confirm,  while 
there  is  nothing  to  discredit  the  external  testi- 

*  Eccl.  xii.  9.  See  of  his  wisdom  and  works  in  the  direct  his¬ 
tory.  1  Kings  iii.  12  ;  iv.  29,  32;  x.  1,  &c. 

f  He  seems  to  have  written  with  his  own  hand  the  whole  epistle 
to  the  Galatians — Gal.  vi.  11 — but  not  so  the  Romans — Rom. 
xvi.  22— .though  he  assumes  and  rightly  the  sole  authorship  of 
the  epistle.  See  Rom.  i.  1,  &c;  ix.  1/  &c.;  x.  1,  &c.;  xv.  14,  24» 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  301 

mony.  The  following  is  the  only  instance  that 
we  shall  produce  in  the  text — “  For  God  shall 
bring  every  work  into  judgment,  with  every  secret 
thing,  whether  it  be  good,  or  whether  it  be  evil,” 
Eccl.  xii.  14.  4 4  For  we  must  all  appear  before 

the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  that  every  one  may 
receive  the  things  done  in  his  body,  according  to 
that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad,” 
2  Cor.  v.  10.  44  In  the  day  when  God  shall 

judge  the  secrets  of  men,  by  Jesus  Christ,  accord¬ 
ing  to  my  Gospel,’  Rom.  ii.  16.* 

28.  Song  of  Solomon.']  We  read  of  the  songs 
of  Solomon  in  1  Kings  iv.  32.  The  internal  evi¬ 
dence  against  the  canonical  authority  of  this  book 
has  been  regarded  by  many  to  be  so  strong,  as  to 
outweigh  the  external  testimony  which  might  be 
adduced  in  its  favour.  But,  if  the  discredit 
grounded  on  the  nature  of  its  contents  can  be 
removed,  this  should  restore  to  their  full  and 
proper  force  the  outward  credentials — consisting  of 
the  exscriptural  testimonies  ;  and  of  all  those 
general  arguments  that  might  be  founded  on  the 
undoubted  place,  which,  along  with  the  other 
books,  it  has  ever  held  in  the  canon  of  the  Old 
Testament.  The  great  repugnance  that  is  felt 
towards  the  acknowledgment  of  its  scriptural  rank, 
arises  from  the  imagery  employed  in  it,  which 


*  See  further — 

Eccl.  i.  8. — Rom.  viii.  20,  22. 
v.  2.— Matt.  vi.  7. 
v.  15. — 1  Tim.  vi.  7. 
vli.  3. — 2  Cor.  vii.  10,  11. 
Til.  20. — 1  John  i.  8. 

X.  20.— Rom.  xiii.  2. 


Eccl.  xi.  1. — Matt.  x.  42. 

2  Cor.  ix.  9,  .0 
xi.  5 _ John  iii.  8. 

xi.  9. — 1  Cor.  iv.  5. 

2  Cor.  v.  10. 

xii.  11. — John  x.  11,  14. 
j  xii.  14. — Rom.  xiv.  10. 


302  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

appears  to  many  incongruous  with  those  mutual 
regards  between  Christ  and  his  church,  that  form, 
in  the  apprehension  of  the  orthodox,  the  great 
subject  of  this  work.  But  the  very  same  imagery, 
it  should  be  recollected,  is  employed,  and  for  the 
very  same  purpose,  by  the  most  undoubted  of  our 
scriptural  writers,  and  in  the  first  and  foremost  of 
our  scriptural  books.  To  present  one  example 
out  of  those  which  occur  in  the  Old  Testament, 
we  have  the  prophet  Isaiah  saying,  “Now  will  I 
sing  to  my  well-beloved  a  song  of  my  beloved, 
touching  his  vineyard.  My  well-beloved  hath  a 
vineyard  in  a  very  fruitful  hill,”  Isaiah  v.  1,  &c.  See 
further,  Isaiah  lxi.  10,  and  lxii.  5.  Jer.  ii.  2. 
Ezek.  xvi.  8.  Hosea  ii.  19,  20.  Matt.  ix.  15 ; 
xxii.  2,  &c. ;  xxv.  1,  &c.  John  iii.  29.  But 
even  the  New  Testament,  more  didactic  and  less 
poetical,  as  it  is  conceived  to  be,  abundantly 
exemplifies  the  style  and  form  of  representation 
that  have  been  so  much  objected  to,  in  this  part 
of  scripture.  The  affection  of  Christ  for  the 
church,  is,  doctrinally  and  without  a  figure,  set 
forth  in  Acts  xx.  28 — where  the  measure  of  his 
love  may  be  estimated  by  the  price  which  he  gave 
for  it,  having  “  purchased  it  with  his  own  blood.” 
This  forms  the  commencement  of  a  new  relation, 
we  are  told  in  Rom.  vii.  4,  between  the  sinner  who 
is  redeemed  and  the  Saviour  who  has  thus  re¬ 
deemed  him.  Raised  by  Him  from  death,  we  are 
married  to  Christ,  “that  we  should  bring  forth 
fruit  unto  God.”  The  image  is  repeated  by  the 
apostle  in  his  second  epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
xi.  2.  “  I  have  espoused  you  to  one  husband, 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  303 

that  I  may  present  you  as  a  chaste  virgin  to 
Christ.”  And  the  preparation  for  our  full  enjoy¬ 
ment  of  Him  in  heaven,  is  our  investiture  here  in 
all  the  graces  of  moral  and  spiritual  excellence, 
and  accordingly,  the  great  work  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
the  Lord  our  strength  and  our  sanctifier,  is  to 
make  us  meet  for  that  inheritance,  whereof  the 
spirit  is  said  to  be  the  earnest.*  This  is  followed 
up  by  a  more  full  development  of  the  image  in 
Eph.  v.  25 _ 32 — which  imagery  is  not  only  sus¬ 

tained  by  Paul  throughout  the  preparation  for 
union  with  Christ  here  ;  but  is  employed  by  John, 
when  he  sets  forth  the  completion  of  it  in  heaven— 
where  a  glorious  and  immortal  festival  awaits  all 
those  “  who  are  called  to  the  marriage-supper  of 
the  Lamb.”t  Our  business  here  is  to  be  diligent, 
that  we  may  be  found  without  spot  and  blameless 
in  the  great  day  of  reckoning.  This  we  are  en¬ 
abled  to  prosecute  through  Christ  helping  us,  who 
prepares  His  disciples  for  Himself,  a  glorious 
church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such 
thing.,,.  When  this  is  accomplished,  He  may  say, 
in  the  language  of  the  Canticles,  i(  Thou  art  fair, 
there  is  no  spot  in  thee,”  Song  iv.  7.  It  is  thus 
that  we  have  scriptural  authority,  if  not  for  the 
positive  confirmation  of  the  title  of  this  work  to  a 
place  in  the  canon,  at  least  for  the  removal  of  the 
objections  against  it.  We  admit  that  it  has  not 
much  more  of  affirmative  evidence  to  rest  upon, 
than  the  historical  fact  ol  its  reception  by  the  Jewish 
and  Christian  churches — coupled,  however,  with 
the  uniform  testimony  of  Christ  and  his  apostles 


•  Eph.  i.  14  ;  iv.  30. 


|  Rev  xix,  7—9*  ZX*  1,2. 


304 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


on  the  side  of  “scripture,”  whereof  this  work 
formed  part  and  parcel  in  their  time.  With  the 
exception,  perhaps,  of  one  passage  in  the  New 
Testament,  the  second  book  of  Kings  would  have 
scarcely  had  any  other  than  the  same  grounds  to 
rest  upon — yet  in  that  passage  it  is  at  once  quoted 
as  scripture,  and  thus  has  its  scriptural  place  and 
authority  conclusively  stamped  upon  it.  The  Song 
of  Solomon  has  not  the  benefit  of  any  reference  so 
distinct  and  peculiar  as  this ;  but  the  strong  cir¬ 
cumstance— both  in  its  favour,  and  in  that  of  all 
other  books  which  held  occupancy  in  the  Hebrew 
scriptures  of  that  day,  is — that  Christ  and  His 
apostles,  in  their  repeated  notices  of  the  whole  col¬ 
lection,  under  this  their  received  and  understood 
title,  never  complains  of  any  unlicensed  intrusion, 
made  by  any  work  among  the  sacred  writings  of 
their  countrymen.  Yet  neither  are  we  altogether 
destitute  of  scriptural  evidence  on  this  subject,  as 
we  have  made  out  to  a  certain  extent  already,  and 
of  which  we  offer  a  few  additional  examples  below. * 
By  the  general  consent  of  the  Jewish  and  Christian 
churches,  this  work  has  a  place  in  the  canon : 
And  there  are  not  wanting  examples,  in  the  history 
of  the  church,  of  those  pure  in  heart,  those  lofty 
and  accomplished  disciples  in  the  school  of  spiri¬ 
tual  and  experimental  religion,  as  St.  Bernard  and 
Thomas  Aquinas,  who  have  rejoiced  in  the  pre¬ 
ciousness  of  this  scripture,  and  inhaled  the  very 

•  Cant.  i.  4.— John  vi.  44.  Cant.  v.  1.— Rev.  iii.  20. 
iv.  7. — Eph.  v.  27.  v.  2.— Rev.  iii.  20. 

Many  more  similar  quotations  might  be  given — but  these  will 
account  for  the  fact,  why,  not  only  our  most  spiritual  men,  but 
tnose  who  are  best  acquainted  with  scripture  in  general,  are  most 
^eccnciled  and  moat  attached  to  the  Song  of  Solomon  in  particular. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  S05 

atmosphere  of  heaven,  without  one  taint  of  the 
base  or  the  unholy,  while  they  luxuriated  over  its 
pages.  44  Unto  the  pure  all  things  are  pure  ;  but 
unto  them  that  are  defiled  and  unbelieving  is  no¬ 
thing  pure ;  but  even'  their  mind  and  conscience  is 
defiled,”  Titus  i.  15.  For  the  interesting  subject 
of  the  relation,  in  which  the  external  stands  to  the 
internal  evidence,  on  the  question  of  the  canon  or 
the  inspiration  of  any  book,  we  would  refer  our 
readers  to  a  succeeding  chapter. 

29.  Before  entering,  in  detail,  on  the  prophetic 
books — it  may  be  right  to  exhibit  a  few  <pf  the 
scriptural  testimonies  for  the  existence  of  such 
works  in  the  general,  and  the  respect  in  which 
they  were  held.  44  That  it  might  be  fulfilled 
which  was  spoken  by  the  prophets,”  Matt.  ii.  23. 
“  We  have  found  him  of  whom  Moses  in  the  law, 
and  the  prophets  did  write,”  John  i.  45 — thus 
ascribing  to  the  prophets,  an  authority  co-ordinate 
with  that  of  Moses.  44  As  he  spake  by  the  mouth 
of  his  holy  prophets,  which  have  been  since  the 
world  began,”  Luke  i.  70.  44  All  things. that  are 

written  by  the  prophets  concerning  the  Son  of 
man  shall  be  accomplished,”  Luke  xviii.  31. 
44  Which  God  hath  spoken  by  the  mouth  of  all  his 
holy  prophets  since  the  world  began,”  Acts  iii.  21. 
44  Yea,  and  all  the  prophets  have  likewise  foretold 
of  these  days,”  Acts  iii.  24  .  44  Which  he  had  pro¬ 

mised  afore  by  his  prophets  in  the  holy  scriptures,” 
Rom.  i.  2.  44  God,  who-at  sundry  times,  and  in 

divers  manners  spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers 
Dy  the  prophets,”  Heb.  i.  1.  We  forbear  to  mul¬ 
tiply  instances  in  proof  of  a  thing  so  palpable,  as 
that  there  existed  a  collection  of  prophetical  writ- 


306 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE;, 


iug3  in  the  days  of  our  Saviour,  in  favour  of  which 
we  have  the  joint  testimony  both  of  Jews  and 
Christians,  accompanied  by  the  frequent  appeals 
both  of  Christ  and  his  apostles. 

30.  Isaiah.']  This  most  illustrious  of  the  Old 
Testament  prophets  seems  to  have  been  honoured 
iu  the  days  of  our  Saviour,  with  a  separate  volume 
for  his  own  compositions.  See  Luke  iv.  17. 
Their  human  authorship  is  clearly  assigned  to  him 
—and  that,  not  by  an  external,  but  by  an  incor¬ 
porated  title.  Isaiah  i.  1.  See  also  ii.  1 ;  xiii.  1 ; 
xx.  2 ;  xxx.  8,  &c.  &c.  He  speaks  throughout 
repeatedly  in  his  own  person,  as  in  vi.  1,  which 
passage  decides  also  the  chronology  of  this  pro¬ 
phet — a  point,  however,  decisively  established  by 
direct  scriptural  history,  and  more  particularly  of 
the  reign  of  Hezekiah  in  the  second  book  of 
Kings  and  second  book  of  Chronicles.  The  great 
difficulty  lies,  not  in  finding,  but  in  selecting  the 
testimonies,  which  are  so  profusely  scattered  over 
the  Bible  in  favour  of  this  prophet.  44  Except  the 
Lord  of  hosts  had  left  unto  us  a  very  small  rem 
nant,  we  should  have  been  as  Sodom,  and  should 
have  been  like  unto  Gomorrah,”  Isaiah  i.  9.  44  And 
as  Esaias  said  before,  Except  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth 
had  left  us  a  seed,  we  had  been  as  Sodoma,  and 
been  made  like  unto  Gomorrha,”  Romans  ix.  29. 
— <4  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  that 
the  mountain  of  the  Lord’s  house  shall  be  estab¬ 
lished  in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be 
exalted  above  the  hills ;  and  all  nations  shall  flow 
unto  it,”  &c.  Isaiah  ii.  2,  &c.  44  But  in  the  last 

days  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  the  mountain  of 
the  house  of  the  Lord  shall  be  established  in  the 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  307 

top  of  the  mountains ;  and  people  shall  flow  unto 
it,”  Micah  iv.  1,  &c.— “  In  the  year  that  king 
Uzziali  died  I  saw  also  the  Lord  sitting  upon  a 
throne,  high  and  lifted  up,  and  his  train  filled  the 
temple,”  Isaiah  vi.  1.  “  These  things  said  Esaias, 

when  he  saw  his  glory  and  spake  of  him,  John 

xii.  41. _ “And  he  said,  Go  and  tell  this  people, 

Hear  ye  indeed,  but  understand  not ;  and  see 
ye  indeed,  but  perceive  not  5  make  the  lieait  of 
this  people  fat,  and  make  their  ears  heavy, 
and  shut  their  eyes;  lest  they  see  with  their 
eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  understand 
with  their  heart,  and  convert,  and  be  healed,” 
Isaiah  vi.  9,  10.  “  And  in  them  is  fulfilled  the 

prophecy  of  Esaias,  which  saith,  By  heaf ing  }  e 
shall  hear,  and  shall  not  understand ;  and  seeing 
ye  shall  see,  and  shall  not  perceive.  For  this 
people’s  heart  is  waxed  gross,  and  their  ears  aie 
dull  of  hearing,  and  their  ears  they  have  closed ; 
lest  at  any  time  they  should  see  with  their  eyes, 
and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  should  understand 
with  their  heart,  and  should  be  converted,  and  I 
should  heal  them,”  Matt.  xiii.  14,  15.  See  also 
John  xii.  39,  40.  Acts  xxviii.  25,  26.  Rom.  xi.  8. 

_ Behold  a  virgin  shall  conceive,  and  bear  a  son, 

and  shall  call  his  name  Immanuel,’  Isaiah  vii.  14. 
“  All  this  was  done,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which 
was  spoken  of  the  Lord  by  the  prophet,  saying, 
Behold,  a  virgin  shall  be  with  child,  and  shall 
bring  forth  a  son,  and  they  shall  call  his  name 
Emmanuel,”  Matt.  i.  22,  23.— u  He  shall  be  for  a 
stone  of  stumbling,  and  for  a  rock  of  offence, 
Isaiah  viii.  14.  “  As  it  is  written,  Behold  I  lay 


308  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

ia  Zion  a  stumbling-stone  and  rock  of  offence, 
Rom.  ix.  33.—“  The  land  of  Zebulun  and  the  land 
of  Naphtali,  by  the  way  of  the  sea,  beyond  Jordan 
in  Galilee  of  the  nations.  The  people  that  walked 
in  darkness  have  seen  a  great  light;  they  that 
dwell  in  the  land  of  the  shadow  of  death,  upon 
them  hath  the  light  shined,’  Isaiah  ix.  1,2.  “  That 
it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the  pro¬ 
phet  Esaias,  saying,  The  land  of  Zabulon,  and  the 
land  of  Nephthalim,  by  the  way  of  the  sea,  beyond 
Jordan,  Galilee  of  the  Gentiles ;  the  people  which 
sat  in  darkness  saw  great  light :  and  to  them  which 
sat  in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death  light  is 
sprung  up,”  Matt.  iv.  14— 16.— “For  though  thy 
people  Israel  be  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  yet  a 
remnant  of  them  shall  return,  Isaiah  x.  22. 

Esaias  also  crieth  concerning  Israel,  Though 
the  number  of  the  children  of  Israel  be  as  the 
sand  of  the  sea,  a  remnant  shall  be  saved,”  Rom. 

ix.  27 _ “  And  in  that  day  there  shall  be  a  root  of 

Jesse,  which  shall  stand  for  an  ensign  of  the 
people  :  to  it  shall  the  Gentiles  seek,”  Isaiah  xi.  1 0. 
“  Esaias  saith,  There  shall  be  a  root  of  Jesse,  and 
he  that  shall  rise  to  reign  over  the  Gentiles ;  m 
him  shall  the  Gentiles  trust,”  Rom.xv.  12 — “  Let 
us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  shall  die, 
Isaiah  xxii.  13.  “  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to¬ 

morrow  we  die,”  1  Cor.  xv.  32. — “  And  the  key 
of  the  house  of  David  will  I  lay  upon  his  shouldei  , 
so  he  shall  open,  and  none  shall  shut ;  and  he  shall 
shut,  and  none  shall  open,’  Isaiah  xxii.  22. 
<£  These  things  saith  he  that  hath  the  key  of 
David,  he  that  openeth,  and  no  man  shutteth;  and 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  309 

shutteth,  and  no  man  openeth,”  Rev.  iii.  7 — 

“  Fear,  and  the  pit,  and  the  snare,  are  upon  thee, 
O  inhabitant  of  the  earth.  And  it  shall  come  to 
pass,  that  he  who  fleeth  from  the  noise  of  the  fear 
shall  fall  into  the  pit;  and  he  that  cometh  up  out 
of  the  midst  of  the  pit  shall  be  taken  in  the  snare,” 
Isaiah  xxiv.  17,  18.  “  Fear,  and  the  pit,  and  the 

snare,  shall  be  upon  thee,  O  inhabitano  of  Moab, 
saith  the  Lord.  He  that  fleeth  from  the  fear 
shall  fall  into  the  pit ;  and  he  that  getteth  up  out 
of  the  pit,  shall  be  taken  in  the  snare,  Jer.  xlviii. 

435  44. _ “  He  will  swallow  up  death  in  victory,” 

Isaiah  xxv.  8.  44  Then  shall  be  brought  to  pass 

the  saying  that  is  written,  Death  is  swallowed  up 
in  victory,”  1  Cor.  xv.  54.— 1 £.4  For  with  stammer¬ 
ing  lips,  and  another  tongue,  will  he  speak  to  this 
people,  yet  they  would  not  hear,  Isaiah  xxviii. 
11,  12.  44  In  the  law  it  is  written,  With  men  of 

other  tongues  and  other  lips  will  I  speak  unto  this 
people  ;  and  yet  for  all  that  will  they  not  hear  me, 
saith  the  Lord,”  1  Cor.  xiv.  21.— 44  Behold  I  lay 
in  Zion  for  a  foundation  a  stone,  a  tried  stone,  a 
precious  corner-stone,  a  sure  foundation :  he  that 
believeth  shall  not  make  haste,  Isaiah  xxvm.  16. 
44  As  it  is  written,  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  a  stum¬ 
bling-stone  and  rock  of  offence:  and  whosoever 
believeth  on  him  shall  not  be  ashamed,  Rom.  ix. 
33.  See  also  1  Peter  ii.  6,  7,  8.*— 44  Forasmuch 
as  this  people  draw  near  me  with  their  mouth,  and 

•  It  is  remarkable  of  this  quotation  that  it  is  introduced  by 
Paul  with  the  words  “It  is  written,  and  by  Peter  with  the 
words  “  It  is  contained  in  scripture”— marking  the  equivalency 
of  the  two  phrases. 


310  OU  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

with  their  lips  do  honour  me,  but  have  removed 
their  heart  far  from  me,  and  their  fear  toward  me 
is  taught  by  the  precept  of  men,”  Isaiah  xxix.  13. 

<«  Well  did  Esaias  prophesy  of  you,  saying,  Ihis 
people  draweth  nigh  unto  me  with  their  mouth, 
and  honoureth  me  with  their  lips ;  but  their  heart 
is  far  from  me.  But  in  vain  they  do  worship  me, 
teaching  for  doctrines  the  commandments  of  men,” 
Matt.  xv.  7—9.  See  also  Mark  vii.  6,  7 — “  Bor 
the  wisdom  of  their  wise  men  shall  perish,  and  the 
understanding  of  their  prudent  men  shall  be  hid,” 
Isaiah  xxix.  14.  “  For  it  is  written,  I  will  destroy 
the  wisdom  of  the  wise,  and  will  bring  to  nothing 
the  understanding  of  the  prudent,”  1  Cor.  l.  19 — 
«  The  voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the  wilderness, 
Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in 
the  desert  a  highway  for  our  God.  Every  valley 
shall  be  exalted,  and  every  mountain  and  hill 
shall  be  made  low  ;  and  the  crooked  shall  be  made 
straight,  and  the 'rough  places  plain:  And  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and  all  flesh 
shall  see  it  together,”  Isaiah  xl.  3—5.  “  As  it  is 

written  in  the  book  of  the  words  of  Esaias  the 
prophet,  saying,  The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the 
wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord, 
make  his  paths  straight.  Every  valley  shall  be 
filled,  and  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be  brought 
low ;  and  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight,  and 
the  rough  ways  shall  be  made  smooth;  and  all 
flesh  shall  see  the  salvation  of  God,”  Luke  iii.  4 
—6.  See  also  Matt.  iii.  3.  Mark  i.  2,  3.  John 

i.  23 _ “  Behold  my  servant,  whom  I  uphold* 

mine  elect,  in  whom  my  soul  delighteth ;  I  have 


especially  or  the  old  testament.  311 

put  my  spirit  upon  him;  he  shaU  bring  forth 
judgment  to  the  Gentiles.  He  shall  not  cry,  nor 
lift  up,  nor  cause  his  voice  to  be  heard  in  the 
street  A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break,  and 
the  smoking  flax  shall  he  not  quench;  he  shall 
bring  forth  judgment  unto  truth,  Isaiah  xhi.  1  3« 

“  That  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by 
Esaias  the  prophet,  saying,  Behold  my  servant, 
whom  I  have  chosen ;  my  beloved,  in  whom  my 
soul  is  well  pleased :  I  will  put  my  spirit  upon 
him,  and  he  shall  shew  judgment  to  the  Gentiles. 
He  shall  not  strive,  nor  cry  ;  neither  shall  any  man 
hear  his  voice  in  the  streets,  &c..,  Matt.  xii.  17 

_ 19. _ «  Unto  me  every  knee  shall  bow,  every 

tongue  shall  swear,”  Isaiah  xlv.  23.  “  At  the 

name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  every 
tongue  should  confess,  Phil.  ii.  10,  11.  In  an 
acceptable  time  have  I  heard  thee,  and  n.  a  day  of 
salvation  have  I  helped  thee,”  Isaiah  xlix.  8. 
(<  Por  he  (God)  saith,  I  have  heard  tiiee  m  a  time 
accepted,  and  in  the  day  of  salvation  have  I  suc¬ 
coured  thee,”  2  Cor.  vi.  2 — “  How  beautiful  upon 
the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  him  that  bringeth 
good  tidings,  that  publisheth  peace  ;  that  bringeth 
good  tidings  of  good,  that  saith  unto  Zion,  Ihy 
God  reigneth,”  Isaiah  lii.  7.  “  As  it  is  written. 

How  beautiful  are  the  feet  of  them  that  preach 
the  Gospel  of  peace,  and  bring  glad  tidings  of 
good  things,”  Rom.  x.  15.  See  also  Nahum  i.  15. 

_ «  That  which  had  not*been  told  them  shall  they 

see,  and  that  which  they  had  not  heard  shall  they 
consider,”  Isaiah  lii.  15.  “  As  it  is  written,  To 

whom  he  wras  not  spoken  of,  they  shall  see ;  and 


312  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

they  that  hav£  not  heard  shall  understand,”  Rom. 

xv.  21 _ “  Who  hath  believed  our  report?  and  to 

whom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed  ?”  Isaiah 
liii.  1.  “That  the  saying  of  Esaias  the  prophet 
might  be  fulfilled,  which  he  spake,  Lord,  who  hath 
believed  our  report  ?  and  to  whom  hath  the  arm 
of  the  Lord  been  revealed?”  John  xii.  38.  See 

also  Rom.  x.  16 _ “Surely  he  hath  borne  our 

griefs,  and  carried  our  sorrows,”  Isaiah  liii.  4. 
“  That  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by 
Esaias  the  prophet,  saying,  Himself  took  our  in¬ 
firmities,  and  bare  our  sicknesses,”  Matt.  viii.  17. 

_ “  And  he  was  numbered  with  the  transgressors,” 

Isaiah  liii.  12.  “  And  the  scripture  was  fulfilled 

which  saith,  And  he  was  numbered  with  .he  trans¬ 
gressors,”  Mark  xv.  28.  See  also  Luke  xxii.  37%. 

_ “  Sing,  O  barren,  thou  that  didst  hot  bear ; 

break  forth  into  singing,  and  cry  aloud,  thou  that 
didst  not  travail  with  child :  for  more  are  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  the  desolate  than  the  children  of  the  married 
wife,  saith  the  Lord,”  Isaiah  liv.  1.  “For  it  is 
written,  Rejoice,  thou  barren  that  bearest  not ; 
break  forth  and  cry,  thou  that  travailest  not ;  for 
the  desolate  hath  many  more  children  than  she 
which  hath  an  husband,”  Gal.  iv.  27. — “  And  all 
thy  children  shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord,”  Isaiah 
liv.  13.  “  It  is  written  in  the  prophets,  And  they 

shall  be  all  taught  of  God,”  John  vi.  45. — “  I  will 
make  an  everlasting  covenant  with  you,  even  the 
sure  mercies  of  David,”*  Isaiah  lv.  3.  “  He  said 

on  this  wise,  I  will  give  you  the  sure  mercies  of 

David,”  Acts  xiii.  34 _ “  Mine  house  shall  be 

called  An  house  of  prayer  for  all  people,”  Isaiah 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  313 


Ivi.  7.  “  Is  it  not  written,  My  house  shall  bo 

called  of  all  nations  the  house  of  prayer  ?”  Mark 
xi.  17.  See  also  Matt.  xxi.  13.  Lukexix.  46. — 

“  Their  feet  run  to  evil,  and  they  make  haste  to 
shed  innocent  blood  ;  wasting  and  destruction  are 
in  their  paths.  The  way  of  peace  they  know  not,” 
Isaiah  lix,  7,  8.  “  Their  feet  are  swift  to  shed 

blood  :  Destruction  and  misery  are  in  their  ways  : 
And  the  way  of  peace  have  they  not  known,” 
Rom.  iii.  15 — 17.  See  also  Prov.  i.  16 — “  The 
spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me ;  because  the 
Lord  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings 
unto  the  meek ;  he  hath  sent  me  to  bind  up  the 
broken-hearted,  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives , 
and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that  are 
bound ;  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of  the 
Lord,”  Isaiah  lxi.  1,2.  “  And  there  was  delivered 
unto  him  the  book  of  the  prophet  Esaias.  And 
when  he  had  opened  the  book,  he  found  the  place 
where  it  was  written,  The  spirit  of  the  Lord  is 
upon  me,  because  he  hath  anointed  me  to  preach 
the  Gospel  to  the  poor ;  he  hath  sent  me  to  heal 
the  broken-hearted,  to  preach  deliverance  to  the 
captives,  and  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind,  to 
set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised,  to  preach  the 
acceptable  year  of  the  Lord,”  Ltike  iv.  17—19 — 
“  Men  have  not  heard,  nor  perceived  by  the  ear, 
neither  hath  the  eye  seen,  O  God,  besides  thee, 
what  he  hath  prepared  for  him  that  waiteth  for 
him,”  Isaiah  lxiv.  4.  “  But  as  it  is  written,  Eye 

hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered 
into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath 
prepared  for  them  that  love  him,”  1  Cor.  ii.  9. — • 
VOL.  iv.  #  o 


314  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

“  I  am  sought  of  them  that  asked  not  for  me  :  I 
am  found  of  them  that  sought  me  not.  I  have 
spread  out  my  hands  all  the  day  unto  a  rebellious 
people,”  Isaiah  lxv.  1,  2.  “  But  Esaias  is  very 

bold  and  saith,  I  was  found  of  them  that  sought 
me  not;  I  was  made  manifest  unto  them  that 
asked  not  after  mef  ;  But  to  Israel  he  saith,  All 
day  long  I  have  stretched  forth  my  hands  unto  a 
disobedient  and  gainsaying  people,”  Rom.  x.  20,  21. 

_ “  The  heaven  is  my  throne,  and  the  earth  is  my 

footstool :  where  is  the  house  that  ye  build  unto 
me  ?  and  where  is  the  place  of  my  rest  ?  For  all 
these  things  hath  mine  hand  made,”  Isaiah  lxvi. 
1,  2.  “  As  saith  the  prophet,  Heaven  is  my 

throne,  and  earth  is  my  footstool :  what  house  will 
ye  build  me  ?  saith  the  Lord :  or  what  is  the  place 
of  my  rest?  Hath  not  my  hand  made  all  these 
things  ?”  Acts  vii.  48 — 50.* 


•  See  further — 

Is.  i.  3 — Jer.  viii.  7. 

i.  11.  vi.  20. 

Amos  Y.  21,  22. 
Mai.  i.  10. 

i.  15 _ Jer.  xiv.  12. 

Mic.  iii.  4. 

Zech.  vii.  13. 
i.  17.  vii.  9. 

i.  23. — Jer.  v.  28. 

Zech.  vii.  10. 

ii.  2.  viii.  21. 

ii.  "1 9. — Hos.  x.  8. 

Luke  xxiii.  30. 
Rev.  vi.  15,  16. 
v.  1. — Jer.  ii.  21. 

Matt.  xxi.  33. 
Mark  xii.  1 . 

Luke  xx.  9. 
ri.  3.— Rev.  iv.  8. 


Is.  vi.  9. — Mark  iv.  12. 

'  Luke  viii.  10. 

vii.  14.  i.  31. 

viii.  14.  ii.  34. 

1  Pet.  ii.  8. 

viii.  15 _ Matt.  xxi.  44. 

Luke  xx.  18. 

viii.  18. — Heb.  ii.  13. 

ix.  6. — Luke  i.  32,  33. 
xi.  1. — Acts  xiii.  23. 

Zech.  iii.  8. 
vi.  12. 

xi.  4. — 2  Thess.  ii.  8. 
xiii.  10. — Ezek.  xxxu.  7. 
Joel  ii.  31. 

iii.  1 5. 

Matt.  xxiv.  22. 
Mark  xiii.  24. 
Luke  xxi.  25. 
xiii.  19.  Jer.  1.  40. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  315 


1 

31.  Jeremiah .]  The  human  authorship  of  this 
work,  is  also  announced  to  us  in  the  work  itself — 
being  told,  in  the  first  verse  of  the  first  chapter, 


Is.  XV.  2 — Jer.  xlviii.  37,  38. 
Ezek.  vii.  18. 
xvi.  6. — Jer.  xlviii.  29. 
xvi.  7.  xlviii.  20. 

xvi.  10.  xlviii.  33. 

xxi.  9. — Rev.  xiv.  8. 

xviii.  2. 

xxii.  4.-«— Jer.  iv.  19. 

ix.  ]. 

xxiv.  2.-— Hos.  iv.  9. 

xxiv.  8. — Ezek.  xxvi.  13. 

Hos.  ii.  11. 

xxv.  8. — Rev.  vii.  17. 

xxi.  4. 

xxvi.  21. — Mic.  i.  3. 
xxviii.  16. — Matt.  xxi.  42. 

Acts  iv.  11. 
Rom.  x.  11. 
Eph.  ii.  20. 
xxxi.  6. — Zech.  i.  4. 
xxxiii.  9. — Nahum  i.  4. 
xxxiii.  18. — 1  Cor.  i.  20. 
xxxiv.  4. — Rev.  vi.  14. 

vi.  13. 

xxxiv.  10.  xviii.  18. 

xix.  3. 

xxxiv.  11. — Zeph.  ii.  14. 

Rev;  xviii.  2. 
xxxv.  3. — Heb.  xii.  12. 
XXxv.  5. — Matt.  ix.  27,  &c. 

xi.  5. 

xii.  22. 

xx.  30,  &c. 

xxi.  14. 
John  ix.  6,  7.  . 
Mark  vii.  32,  &c. 

xxxv.  G.— Matt.  xi.  5.. 

xv.  30. 
xxi.  14. 
John  v.  8,  9. 

Acts  iii.  2,  & c. 

7  viii.  7. 


Is.  xxxv.  6. — Acts  xiv.  8. 

Matt.  ix.  32,  33. 
xii.  22. 
xv.  30. 

John  vii.  38,  39. 
xxxvi.  1. — 2  Kings  xviii.  13. 

.  2  Chr.  xxxii.  1. 
xxxvi.  6. — Ezek.  xxix.  6,  7. 
xxxvii.  1,  &c. — 2  Kings  xix. 

1,  &  c. 

xxxvii.  32.  xix.  31. 

xxxvii.  35.  xx.  6. 

xxxvii.  36.  xix.  35. 

xxx viii.  1.  xx.  1,  &c. 

2  Chr.  xxxii.  24. 
xxxix.  1. — 2  Kings  xx.  12,  &c. 
xl.  6. —  1  Pet.  i.  24. 
xl.  8.  i.  25. 

xl.  13 _ Rom.  xi.  34. 

1  Cor.  ii.  16. 
xii.  4. — Rev.  i.  17. 

xxii.  13. 

xii.  8 _ James  ii.  23. 

xlii.  1. — Matt.  iii.  17. 

xvii.  5* 

Eph.  i.  6. 

xlii.  6. — Luke  ii.  32. 

Acts  xiii.  47. 
xlii.  7. — Luke  iv.  18. 

Heb.  ii.  14,  15. 
xliii.  5. — Jer.  xxx.  10. 

xlvi.  27. 
xliii.  1 1 — Hos.  xiii.  4. 
xliv.  3. — Joel  ii.  28. 

John  vii.  38. 
xliv.  6. — Rev.  i.  8,  17. 

xxii.  13 

xliv.  12. — Jer.  x.  3. 
xliv.28. — 2  Chr.  xrxvi.22,23. 

Ezra  i.  1.  &c. 
xiv  9. — Jer.  xviii.  6. 

Rom.  ix.  20. 


316 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


that,  it  consists  of  “  the  words  of  Jeremiah  the  son 
of  Hilkiah.”  The  use  of  the  first  person  is  also 
frequent — as  in  i.  4,  &c.;  iii.  6;  ix.  1,  &c.,  &c. — and 
in  xxxvi.  1,  &c.,  we  read  of  a  commandment  from 
the  Lord  to  Jeremiah  by  name — that  he  should 
write  his  prophecies  in  a  book,  for  the  purpose  of 
their  being  publicly  read  in  the  temple.  We  have 
besides  express  notice  of  him  in  sacred  history — as 
in  2  Chr.  xxxv.  25,  and  xxxvi.  21,  22 — the  last 
of  these  notices  being  repeated  in  the  beginning  of 
the  book  of  Ezra.  A  divine  original  is  expressly 
claimed  for  the  book  of  Jeremiah  at  its  commence¬ 
ment  ;  and  may  be  gathered  from  xxxiv.  2,  and 
other  places.  It  may  also  be  argued  from  the 


Is.  xlv.  13.— 2  Chr.  xxxvi.22,23. 
Ezra  i.  1,  &c. 
xlv.  23. — Phil.  ii.  10. 
xlvi.  1. —  Jer.  1.  2. 
xlvii.  7. — Rev.  xviii.  7. 
xlviii.  12.  i.  17. 

xxii.  13. 

xlix.  6 _ Acts  xiii.  47. 

xlix.  9. — Zech.  ix.  12. 
xlix.  10. — Rev.  vii.  16. 
xlix.  26.  xv i.  6. 

1.  4. — Matt.  xi.  28. 

1.  6.  xxvi.  67. 

xxvii.  26. 

1.  8. — -Rom.  viii.  32,  33. 
li.  9. — Ezek.  xxix.  3 
li.  15. — Jer.  xxxi.  35. 

Iii.  5. — Rom.  ii.  24. 

Iii.  10. — Luke  iii.  6. 

Iii.  11 - 2  Cor.  vi.  17. 

Rs7,  xviii.  4. 
liii.  3. — Mark  ix.  12. 
liii.  5. — 1  Cor.  xv.  3. 

1  Pet.  ii.  24. 
liii.  7. — Matt.  xxvi.  63. 

xxvii.  12 
.  Mark  xiv.  61. 


Is.  liii.  7. — Mark  xv.  5. 
liii.  9.— 1  Pet.  ii.  22. 
liii.  12.— Luke  xxiii.  34 

lv.  1 _ John  vii.  37. 

lviii.  5. — Zech.  vii.  5. 
lix.  17 — Eph.  vi.  14,  17* 
1  Thess.  v.  8. 
lix.  20. — Rom.  xi.  26. 
lx.  3. — Rev.  xxi.  24. 
lx.  11.  xxi.  25. 

lx.  14.  iii.  9. 

lx.  19.  xxi.  23. 

xxii.  5. 
Zech.  xiv.  7. 
lxiii.  2. — Rev.  xix.  13 
lxv.  1. — Eph.  ii.  12,  13 
Ixv.  12. — Jer.  vii.  13. 
lxv.  17. — 2  Pet.  iii.  13. 

Rev.  xxi.  1. 
lxv.  19.  '  xxi.  4. 

lxvi.  1. — Acts  xvii.  24. 
lxvi.  21.— 1  Pet.  ii,  9. 
Rev.  i.  6. 

lxvi.  22. — 2  Pet.  iii.  13 
Rev.  xxi.  1. 
xvi.  24. — Mark  ix.  44 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  317 

known  fulfilment  of  its  predictions — as  in  chap, 
xxv.  11,  12,  and  xxix.  10— followed  up  by  a  noble 
consecutive  testimony  on  the  part  of  the  prophet 
Daniel _ “  And  the  whole  land  shall  be  a  desola¬ 

tion,  and  an  astonishment ;  and  these  nations  shall 
serve  the  king  of  Babylon  seventy  years.  And 
it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  seventy  years  are 
accomplished,  that  I  will  punish  the  king  of 
Babylon,  and  that  nation,  saith  the  Lord,  for  their 
iniquity,  and  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans,  and  will 
make  it  perpetual  desolations,’  Jer.  xxv.  11,  12. 

“  In  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  I  Daniel  under¬ 
stood  by  books  the  number  of  the  years,  whereof 
the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  Jeremiah  the  pro¬ 
phet,  that  he  would  accomplish  seventy  years  in 
the  desolations  of  Jerusalem,”  Daniel  ix.  2.  We 
subjoin  a  few  more  of  these  scriptural  attestations. 

_ “  Is  this  house,  which  is  called  by  my  name, 

become  a  den  of  robbers  in  your  eyes  ?  ’  Jer.  vii. 
11.  <e  But  ye  have  made  it  (my  house)  a  den  of 
thieves,”  Matt.  xxi.  13.  See  also  Mark  xi.  17 ; 
Luke  xix.  46.  “  Now  therefore,  go  speak  to  the 

men  of  Judah,  and  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem, 
saying,  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Return  ye  novv 
every  one  from  his  evil  way,  and  make  your  ways 
and  your  doings  good,”  Jer.  xviii.  11.  “  Be  ye 

not  as  your  fathers  unto  whom  the  former  pro¬ 
phets  have  cried,  saying,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts  Turn  ye  now  from  your  evil  ways,  and  from 
your  evil  doings,”  Zech.  i.  4.-“  Then  shall  ye  call 
upon  me,  and  ye  shall  go  and  pray  unto  me,  and  I 
will  hearken  unto  you,”  Jer.  xxix.  12.  “  And  I 

get  my  face  unto  the  Lord  God,  to  seek  by  prayer 


318 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


and  supplications,”  Dan.  ix.  3 — “  Thus  saith  the 
Lord,  A  voice  was  heard  in  Ramah,  lamentation, 
and  bitter  weeping,  Rachel  weeping  for  her  chil¬ 
dren,  refused  to  be  comforted  for  her  children, 
because  they  were  not,”  Jer.  xxxi.  15 — fol« 
lowed  up  by  this  most  satisfactory  authentication. 
46  Then  was  fulfilled  that  which  was  spoken  by 
Jeremy  the  prophet,  saying,  In  Ramah  was  there 
a  voice  heard,  lamentation,  and  weeping,  and  great 
mourning,  Rachel  weeping  for  her  children,  and 
would  not  be  comforted,  because  they  are  not,” 
Matt.  ii.  18.  The  next  is  a  highly  important 
quotation. — “  Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the 
Lord,  that  I  wilj  make  a  new  covenant  with  the 
house  of  Israel,  and  with  the  house  of  Judah  :  Not 
according  to  the  covenant  that  I  made  with  their 
fathers  in  the  day  that  I  took  them  by  the  hand,  to 
bring  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt;  which  my 
covenant  they  brake,  although  I  was  an  husband 
unto  them,  saith  the  Lord.  But  this  shall  be  the 
covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the  house  of 
Israel ;  After  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will 
put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and  write  it  in 
their  hearts;  and  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall 
be  my  people,”  &c.  Jer.  xxxi.  31 — 33,  & c.  t£  He 
(God)  saith,  Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the 
Lord,  when  I  will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the 
house  of  Israel  and  the  house  of  Judah;  Not  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  covenant  that  I  made  with  their 
fathers,  in  the  day  when  I  took  them  by  the  hand 
to  lead  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt ;  because 
they  continued  not  in  my  covenant,  and  I  regarded 
them  not,  saith  the  Lord.  For  this  is  the  cove* 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  319 

■**  % 


ant  that  X  will  make  with  the  house  of  Isiacl,  after 
those  days,  saith  the  Lord;  I  will  put  my  laws 
into  their  mind,  and  write  them  in  their  hearts ;  and 
I  will  be  to  them  a  God,  and  they  shall  be  to  me  a 
people,”  &c.  Heb.  viii.  8—10,  &c.  The  same  quota¬ 
tion  is  repeated  in  Heb.  x.  lo,  1  /  ,  as  tne  saying  of 
the  Holy  Ghost — a  direct  statement  of  the  inspira¬ 
tion  of  Jeremiah. — “  Behold  the  days  come,  saith 
the  Lord,  that  the  city  shall  be  built*  to  the  Lord, 
from  the  tower  of  Hananeel  unto  the  gate  of  the 
corner,”  Jer.  xxxiii.  38.  u  JTien  the^/  budded 
even  unto  the  tower  of  Hananeel,”  Neh.  iii.  IT 


*  See  further — 

Jer.  i.  8.— Ezek.  iii.  9. 
ii.  6. — Hos.  xiii.  4. 
ii.  21. — Matt.  xxi.  o3. 
Mark  xii.  1. 

Luke  xx.  9. 

ii.  30. — Matt,  xxiii-  29,  &c, 

iii.  12. — :Zech.  i.  4. 

iii.  22. — Hos.  xiv.  1,  4. 
vi.  14. — Ezek.  xiii.  10. 
vi.  20. — Amos  v.  21. 

Mic.  vi.  6. 

Mai.  i.  10. 

vi.  28. — Ezek.  xxii.  18. 

ix.  4,  29.— Mic.  vii.  5,  6. 
ix.  24. — 1  Cor.  i.  31. 

2  Cor.  x.  17. 

ix.  2G. — Rom.  ii.  28. 

x.  7. — Rev.  xv.  4. 

xi.  3. — Gal.  iii.  10. 
xi.  11. — Zech.  vii.  13. 

xiii.  17. — Lam.  i.  2,  16. 

ii.  18. 

xiv.  12. — Zcch.  vii.  13. 

xiv.  17. — Lam.  i  16.  * 

ii.  18. 

xv.  1. — Ezek.  xiv.  14. 
xv.  2. — Zech.  xi.  9. 
xv.  9. — Amos  viii.  9. 
xv.  16. — Ezek.  iii.  3. 

Rev.  x.  9. 


Jer.  xvi.  9. — Ezek.  xxvi.  13. 
xvii.  10. — Rev.  ii.  23. 

xv  iii.  6 - Rom.  ix.  21. 

xviii.  8. — Jonah  iii.  10. 
xviii.  11. — 2  Kings  xvii.  13 
Zech.  i.  4. 

xxiii.  1.  xi.  17. 

xxiii.  5.  iii.  8. 

vi.  12. 

xxiii.  17 _ Ezek.  xiii.  10. 

xxiii.  24. — Amos  ix.  2,  3. 

xxiv.  7.. — Ezek.  xi.  19. 

xxxvi.  26,  27. 

xxv.  30. — Joel  iii.  16. 

Amos  i.  2. 

xxvi.  2. — Acts  xx.  27. 
xxvii.  6. — Dan.  iv.  17,  25. 

xxix. 10. — 2  Chr.  xxx  vi .  2 1 , 2  2 

Dan.  ix.  2. 

xxx.  9. — -Ezek.  xxxiv,  23. 

xxxvii.  24. 
Hos.  iii.  5. 

xxxi.  1.— 2  Cor.  vi.  16. 

Heb.  xiii.  10. 
xxxi.  29. — Ezek.  xviii.  2. 
xxxi.  31— — Heb.  x.  16. 
xxxi.  34. — John  vi.  45. 

Mic.  vii.  18. 
Acts  x.  43. 

xxxii.  39 — Ezek.  xi.  19. 

I  xxxiii.  15. — Zech.  iii.  8. 


320 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


32.  Lamentations .J  This  beautiful  poem  bears 
upon  it  the  internal  evidence  of  its  likeness  to 
other  effusions,  from  the  pen  of  Jeremiah  its  re¬ 
puted  author.*  The  only  other  scriptural  resem¬ 
blance  that  we  notice  is  the  following— “  Thou 
hast  made  us  as  the  offscouring  and  refuse  in  the 
midst  of  the  people,  Tam.  iii.  45.  44  We  are  made 
as  the  filth  of  the  world,  and  are  the  offscouring 
of  all  things  unto  this  day/’  1  Cor.  iv.  13.  Com¬ 
pare  also  Lam.  ii.  17  with  Zech.  i.  G. 

33.  Ezekiel .J  The  writer  of  this  book  lays 
claim  repeatedly  to  supernatural  communications 
from  heaven — 44  The  hand  of  the  Lord  was  upon 
me,  and  carried  me  out  in  the  spirit  of  the  Lord,” 
&c.  Certain  it  is  that  Ezekiel  holds  a  distin¬ 
guished  place  in  the  traditions  and  estimation  of 
the  Jews;  and  is  expressly  named  as  one  of  their 
prophets  by  Josephus.  He  prophesied  in  Chal¬ 
dea,  at  the  time  when  Jeremiah  prophesied  in 
Jerusalem.  There  is  a  remarkable  similarity 
between  several  of  his  images,  and  those  in  the 


Jer.  xxxiii.  15. — Zech.  vi.  12. 
xxxiv.  1. — 2  Kings  xxv.  1,  &c. 
xxxvii.  1.  xxiv.  17. 

2  Chr.  xxxvi.  10. 
xxxix.  1. — 2  Kings  xxv.  1. 
xfh  2.  xxv.  25. 

xlix.  1 — Amos  i.  14. 
xlix.  7. — Obad.  8. 
xlix.  9.  5. 

xlix.  14.  1 . 

xlix.  16.  4. 

xlix.  27. — Amos  i.  4 
1.  8. — Rev.  xviii.  4. 
li.  6.  xviii.  4. 

li.  8.  xiv.  8. 

li.  14. — Amos  vi.  8. 

Iii.  21. — 2  Kings  xv.  17. 


*  See- 

Lam.  i.  2. — Jer.  xiii.  17. 


i.  12. 

x.  19. 
xlv.  3. 

i.  16. 

ix.  1,  18. 

i.  20. 

xlviii.  36, 

ii.  14. 

v.  31. 
xiv.  13. 
xxiii.  16. 

iii.  14. 

xx.  7. 

iii.  48,  49. 

ix.  1,  18. 

• 

xiii.  17. 

xiv.  17. 

iv.  13. 

v.  31. 
xxiii.  21. 

v.  21. 

xxxi.  18. 

ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  321 

Apocalypse — 44  Open  thy  mouth,  and  eat  that  I 
give  thee.”  44  Moreover  he  said  unto  me,  Son  of 
man  eat  that  thou  frndest;  eat  this  roll,  and  go 
speak  unto  the  house  of  Israel.  So  I  opened  my 
mouth,  and  he  caused  me  to  eat  that  roll.  And 
he  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  cause  thy  belly  to 
eat,  and  fill  thy  bowels  with  this  roll  that  I  give 
thee.  Then  did  I  eat  it ;  and  it  was  in  my  mouth 
as  honey  for  sweetness,”  Ezek.  ii.  8  ;  iii.  1 — 3. 
“  And  I  went  unto  the  angel,  and  said  unto  him, 
give  me  the  little  b^ok.  And  he  said  unto  me, 
Take  it,  and  eat  it  up  ;  and  it  shall  make  thy  belly 
bitter,  but  it  shall  be  in  thy  mouth  sweet  as  honey,” 
Rev.  x.  9. — 44  And  the  Lord  said,  Go  through  the 
midst  of  the  city,  and  set  a  mark  upon  the  fore¬ 
heads  of  the  men  that  sigh  and  that  cry  for  all  the 
abominations  that  be  done  in  the  midst  thereof,” 
Ezek.  ix.  4.  44  Hurt  not  the  earth,  neither  the 

sea,  nor  the  trees,  till  we  have  sealed  the  servants 

of  our  God  in  their  foreheads,”  Rev.  vii.  3 _ 

44  Thy  riches,  and  thy  fairs,  thy  merchandise,  thy 
mariners,  and  thy  pilots,  thy  calkers,  and  the 
occupiers  of  thy  merchandise,  and  all  thy  men  of 
war,  that  are  in  thee,  and  in  all  thy  company  which 
is  in  the  midst  of  thee,  shall  fall  into  the  midst  of  the 
seas  in  the  day  of  thy  ruin — and  all  shall  lament  over 
thee,  saying,  What  city  is  like  Tyrus,  like  the  de¬ 
stroyed  in  the  midst  of  the  sea  ?”  Ezek.  xxvii.  27 — 
32.  See  also  Ezek.  xxvi.  17.  44  And  the  kings  of 
the  earth  shall  lament  for  her,  saying,  Alas,  alas, 
that  great  city  Babylon,  that  mighty  city.  And  the 
merchants  of  the  earth  shall  mourn  over  her,  and 
stand  afar  off,  weeping  and  wailing,  saying,  Alas, 

o  2 


322 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


alas,  that  great  city,  ”&c.  Rev.xviii.9 — 16. — “  Sonoi 
man,  set  iLiv  face  against  Gog,  the  land  of  Magog/* 
Ezqk  xxxvfii.  2.  “  And  Satan  shall  go  out  to 

deceive  the  nations  which  are  in  the  four  quarters 
of  the  earth,  Gog  and  Magog,”  &c.  Rev.  xx.  7,  8. — 
“  Behold,  at  the  bank  of  the  river  were  very  many 
trees  on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other.  These  waters, 
being  brought  forth  into  the  sea,  the  waters  shall  be 
healed,”  Ezek.  xlvii.  7,  8.  See  also  Ezek.  xlvii.  12. 
“  In  the  midst  of  either  side  of  the  river,  was  there 
the  tree  of  life,  which  bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits ; 
and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing  of 
the  nations,”  Rev.  xxii.  2.  The  only  other  scrip¬ 
tural  resemblance  that  we  shall  produce  here  is 
the  following. — “  Their  silver  and  their  gold  shall 
not  be  able  to  deliver  them  in  the  day  of  the 
wrath  of  the  Lord,”  Ezek.  vii.  19.  66  Neither 

their  silver  nor  their  gold  shall  be  able  to  deliver 
them  in  the  day  of  the  Lord’s  wrath,”  Zeph.  i.  18.* 
34.  Daniel .]  The  similarity  between  the  pro¬ 
phecies  of  Daniel  and  those  of  the  Apocalypse  has 
been  long  remarked.  “  Thousand  thousands  minis¬ 
tered  unto  him,  and  ten  thousand  times  ten  thou¬ 
sand  stood  before  him,”  Dan.  vii.  10.  “  And  I 

heard  the  voice  of  many  angels  :•  and  the  number 
of  them  was  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  and 


*  See  further — 

Ezek.  viii.  3. — Dan.  v.  5. 
xi.  3 — 2  Pet.  iii.  4. 
zii.  21.  iii.  4. 

xviii.  29. — Zech.  i.  4. 

xviii.  32 _ 2  Pet.  iii.  9. 

xxii.  27 - Zeph.  iii.  3. 

xxiv.  9. — Nahum  iii.  1. 
Qab.  ii.  12. 


Ezek.  xxviii.  2 — Zech.  ix.  2,  &c. 

xxx.  13.  xiii.  2. 

xxxi.  6. — Dan.  iv.  12. 

xxxiv.  4. — 1  Pet  v.  3. 
xxxiv.  23. — John  x.  11. 
xxxiv.  31.  x.  11. 

xxxvi.  20. — Rom.  ii.  24. 
xlvii.  1. — Zech.  xiv.  8. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  323 

thousands  of  thousands,”  Rev.  v.  11. — “  The  judg¬ 
ment  was  set  and  the  books  were  opened,”  Dan. 
vii.  10.  “  And  the  books  were  opened;  and  the 

dead  judged  out  of  those  things  which  were  written 

in  the  books,”  Rev.  xx.  12 _ “  Then  I  lifted  up 

mine  eyes,  and  looked,  and  behold  a  certain  man 
clothed  in  linen,  whose  loins  were  girded  with  fine 
gold  of  Uphaz.  His  body  also  was  like  the  beryl, 
and  his  face  as  the  appearance  of  lightning,  and 
his  eyes  as  lamps  of  fire,  and  his  feet  like  in  colour 
to  polished  brass,  and  the  voice  of  his  words  like 
the  voice  of  a  multitude,”  Dan.  x.  5,  6.  “  And 

in  the  midst  of  the  seven  candlesticks  one  like  unto 
the  Son  of  man,  clothed  with  a  garment  down  to 
the  foot,  and  girt  about  the  paps  with  a  golden 
girdle.  His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire ;  and  his 
feet  like  unto  fine  brass,  as  if  they  burned  in  a 
furnace  ;  and  his  voice  was  as  the  sound  of  many 
waters,”  Rev.  i.  13 — 15.  The  illustrious  testi¬ 
mony  given  by  our  Saviour  to  this  prophet,  fully 
countervails  any  discredit  which  the  Jews  have 
attempted  to  fasten  upon  him,  by  their  distinction 
between  prophetical  and  sacred  books — a  distinc¬ 
tion  rejected  by  Christian  theologians.  “  For  the 
overspreading  of  abominations  he  shall  make  it 
desolate,”  Dan.  ix.  27.  “  When  ye,  therefore, 

shall  see  the  abomination  of  desolation,  spoken  of 
by  Daniel  the  prophet,  stand  in  the  holy  place,” 
Matt.  xxiv.  15.  See  also  Mark  xiii.  14,  and 
Luke  xxi.  20.  The  contemporaneous  testimony 
given  by  Ezekiel,  both  to  the  existence  of  Daniel, 
and  to  the  high  rank  which  he  held  in  the  estima¬ 
tion  of  the  Jews,  we  have  in  Ezek.  xiv.  14,  20 — 


324  ON  TIIE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

and  aiso  in  the  irony  of  the  address  by  the  same 

¥  * 

prophet  to  the  prince  of  Tyrus — “  Behold  thou 
art  wiser  than  Daniel ;  there  is  no  secret  that  they 
can  hide  from  thee,”  Ezek.  xxviii.  3.  The  name 
of  Daniel,  fixing  on  him  the  authorship  of  this 
book,  occurs  repeatedly  throughout  its  chapters— 
vi.  20 ;  vii.  15 ;  viii.  15,  27 ;  ix.  2,  22 ;  x.  2,  11 ; 
xii.  4,  5,  9.  He  is  throughout  represented  as  the 
subject  of  special  communications  from  God.  The 
following  instance  of  a  revelation  like  to  the  apoca¬ 
lyptic  ones  should  be  added  to  the  former  ones. 
“  And  I  heard  the  man  clothed  in  linen,  which 
was  upon  the  waters  of  the  river,  when  he  held  up 
his  right  hand  and  his  left  hand  unto  heaven,  and 
sware  by  him  that  liveth  for  ever,  that  it  shall  be 
for  a  time,  times,  and  an  half,”  Dan.  xii.  7.  “  And 
the  angel  which  I  saw  stand  upon  the  sea  and 
upon  the  earth,  lifted  up  his  hand  to  heaven ;  and 
sware  by  him  that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever,  That 
there  should  be  time  no  longer,”  Rev.  x.  5,  6.* 

35.  Hosea.~\  We  now  enter  on  the  considera¬ 
tion  of  the  “  minor  prophets,”  whose  works, 
amounting  separately  to  tvvelve,  were  bound  up  in 
one  volume ;  and  were  altogether  ranked  as  but 
one  of  their  scriptural  books  by  the  Jews.  The 
application  to  them  of  the  epithet  minor,  respects 
the  quantity,  and  not  the  authority,  of  their  writ- 


*  See  further — 

Dan.  i.  1. — 2  Kings  xxiv.  1. 

2  Chr.  xxxvi.  6. 
iv.  34. — Mic.  iv.  7. 

Luke  i.  33. 

vi.  26.  i.  33. 

vii,  14. — Mic.  iv.  7. 


Dan.  vii.  14. — Luke  i.  33. 
vii.  27.  i.  33. 

xii.  2. — Matt.  xxv.  46. 

John  v.  29. 
xii.  3. — Matt.  xiii.  43. 

1  Cor.  xv.  40. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  325 

mgs.  The  Jews  frequently  spake  of  them  as  the 
twelve ,  in  like  manner  as  the  apostles  are  spoken 
of  in  various  parts  of  the  New  Testament.  The 
authorship  of  the  prophecy  of  Hosea,  is  ascribed 
to  him  in  the  prophecy  itself — he  being  named  in 
the  commencement,  and  making  use  of  the  first 
person,  particularly  in  the  third  chapter  of  the 
book.  He  is  the  subject  of  undoubted  and  express 
quotations  in  the  New  Testament.  The  first  of 
those  which  follow  is  most  conclusive.  “  And  it 
shall  come  to  pass,  that  in  the  place  where  it  was 
said  unto  them,  Ye  are  not  my  people,  there  it 
shall  be  said  unto  them,  Ye  are  the  sons  of  the 
living  God,”  Hos.  i.  10.  “  As  he  saith  also  in 

Osee — And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  in  the  place 
where  it  was  said  unto  them,  Ye  are  not  my 
people ;  there  shall  they  be  called  the  children  of 

the  living  God,”  Rom.  ix.  25,  26 _ “  I  will  say 

to  them  which  were  not  my  people,  Thou  art  my 
people;  and  they  shall  say,  Thou  art  my  God,” 
Hos.  ii.  23.  “  Which  in  time  past  were  not  a 

people,  but  are  now  the  people  of  God,”  1  Pet.  ii. 

10.  — “  For  I  desired  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice,” 
Flos.  vi.  6.  “  Go  ye  and  learn  what  that  meaneth, 
I  will  have  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice,”  Matt.  ix.  13. 
See  also  Matt.  xii.  7 — “  I  called  my  son  out  of 
Egypt,”  Hos.  xi.  1.  “That  it  might  be  fulfilled 
which  was  spoken  of  the  Lord  by  the  prophet, 
saying,  Out  of  Egypt  have  I  called  my  son,”  Matt. 

11.  15. — “  O  death,  I  will  be  thy  plagues  ;  O  grave, 

I  will  be  thy  destruction,”  Hos.  xiii.  14.  “  Then 

shall  be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  that  is  written, 
O  death,  where  is  thy  sting?  O  grave,  where  is  thy 


326 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


% 


victory  ?”  .  Cor.  xv.  54,  55.—“  So  will  we  render 
the  calves  of  our  lips,”  Hos.  xiv.  2.  “  By  liim, 

.et  us  offer  the  sacrifice  of  praise  to  God,  that  is, 
the  fruit  of  our  lips,”  Heb.  xiii.  15. — Considering 
the  small  amount  of  the  book,  it  is  peculiarly  rich 
in  the  scriptural  evidence  by  which  it  is  supported. 

36.  Joel.']  Even  for  this  brief  composition, 
there  are  not  wanting  some  decisive  references  in 
the  New  Testament.  Peter  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  quotes  it,  and  gives  the  name  of  the 
author — which  also  occurs  at  the  commencement 
of  the  book.  There  are  one  or  two  more  un¬ 
doubted  citations  of  this  prophecy,  which  are  either 
given  here,  or  pointed  to  in  a  foot  note  below. — 
“  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  afterwards,  that  I  will 
pour  out  my  spirit  upon  all  flesh ;  and  your  sons 
and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy,  your  old  men 
shall  dream  dreams,  your  young  men  shall  see 
visions :  And  also  upon  the  servants  and  upon 
the  handmaids  in  those  days  will  I  pour  out  my 
spirit.  And  I  will  shew  wonders  in  the  heavens 
and  in  the  earth,  blood,  and  fire,  and  pillars  ot 
smoke,”  &c.  Joel  ii.  28—30,  &c.  “  But  this  is 

that  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet  Joel ;  And 
it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  (saith  God,) 
I  will  pour  out  of  my  spirit  upon  all  flesh  :  and  your 
sons  and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy,  and  your 
young  men  shall  see  visions,  and  your  old  men 
shall  dream  dreams  :  And  on  my  servants  and  on 
my  handmaidens  I  will  pour  out  in  those  days  of 
my  spirit ;  and  they  shall  prophesy,”  &c.  Acts  ii. 


*  See  further — 

Husea  ii.  23. — Rom.  ix.  26’. 
iv.  1 _ Mic.  vi.  2. 


Ilosea  vi.  2.— 1  Cor.  xv  4 
x.  8, — Luke  xxiii.  30. 
Rev.  vi.  16. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  327 


16 — 18,  &c. — “  Whosoever  shall  call  upon  the 
name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved,”  Joel  ii.  32. 
“  For  whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  saved,”  Rom.  x.  13. — Put  ye  in 
the  sickle,  for  the  harvest  is  ripe,”  Joel  iii.  13. 

Thrust  in  thy  sickle,  and  reap;  for  the  harvest 
of  the  earth  is  ripe,”  Rev.  xiv.  15.* 

37.  Amos. ]  This  book  also  has  its  incorpo¬ 
rated  title,  and  its  announced  claim  to  inspiration. 
“  And  the  Lord  took  me,  as  I  followed  the  flock, 
and  the  Lord  said  unto  me,  Go  prophesy  unto  my 
people  Israel,  vii.  15.  The  name  of  Amos  occurs, 
with  the  use  of  the  first  person,  repeatedly  in  the 
book,  as  throughout  the  whole  of  the  7th  chapter, 
and  in  viii.  1,  2;  ix.  1.  He  is  twice  quoted  in  the 
New  Testament,  not  by  name,  but  as  belonging  to 
“  the  prophets ;  ’  and  in  such  a  manner  as  might 
lead  one  to  imagine,  that  the  volume  in  which  he 
was  bound  up  along  with  the  others,  might  have 
been  referred  to  by  its  title.  It  was  a  volume 
which  comprehended  all  the  minor  prophets ;  and 
so,  if  these  quotations  are  to  be  regarded  as  a 
homologation  of  the  whole  volume  from  which  they 
are  taken,  they  might,  without  any  stretch  of  argu¬ 
ment,  be  pled  as  testimonies,  in  behalf  not  only  of 
Amos  himself,  but  of  the  other  eleven  with  whom 
he  was  associated. — <c  Have  ye  offered  unto  me 
sacrifices  and  offerings  in  the  wilderness  forty 


"  See  further — 

Joel  i.  15 — Is.  xiii.  6. 
ii.  10.  xiii.  10. 

Ezek.  xxxii.  7. 
ii.  11 — Jer.  xxx.  7. 
Amos  v.  18. 
Zeph.  i.  15. 


Joel  ii.  13. — Jonah  iv.  2. 
i».  14.  iii.  9 

ii.  28 — Is.  xliv.  3. 

iii.  10.  ii.  4. 

iii.  17. — Zech.  xiv.  21, 
iii.  28. — Amos  ix.  13. 
Zech.  xiv.  8. 


328 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


years,  O  house  of  Israel  ?  But  ye  have  borne 
the  tabernacle  of  your  Moloch  and  Chiun  your 
images,  the  star  of  your  god,  which  ye  made  to 
yourselves :  Therefore  will  I  cause  you  to  go  into 
captivity  beyond  Damascus,”  Amos  v.  25 — 27. 
<c  As  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  the  prophets,  O 
ye  house  of  Israel,  have  ye  offered  to  me  slain 
beasts  and  sacrifices  by  the  space  of  forty  years  in 
the  wilderness?  Yea,  ye  took  up  the  tabernacle 
of  Moloch,  and  the  star  of  your  god  Remphan, 
figures  which  ye  made  to  worship  them:  and  I 
will  carry  you  away  beyond  Babylon,”  Acts  vii. 
42,  43. — <c  In  that  .day  will  I  raise  up  the  taber¬ 
nacle  of  David  that  is  fallen,  and  close  up  the 
breaches  thereof;  and  I  will  raise  up  his  ruins, 
and  I  will  build  it  as  in  the  days  of  old,  That  they 
may  possess  the  remnant  of  Edom,  and  of  all  the 
heathen  which  are  called  by  my  name,  saith  the 
Lord  that  doeth  this,”  Amos  ix.  11,  12.  “  And 

to  this  agree  the  words  of  the  prophets ;  as  it  is 
written,  After  this  I  will  return,  and  will  build 
again  the  tabernacle  of  David  which  is  fallen  down  ; 
and  I  will  build  again  the  ruins  thereof,  and  I  will 
set  it  up  :  That  the  residue  of  men  might  seek  after 
the  Lord,  and  all  the  Gentiles,  upon  whom  my  name 
is  called,  saith  the  Lord,  who  doeth  all  these  things,” 
Acts  xv.  17.* 


*  See  further — 

Ames  1. — Zech.  xiv.  5. 
i.  2. — Jer.  xxv.  30. 

Joel  iii.  16 
r.  8. — Job  ix.  9. 

xxxviii.  31. 

v.  II. — Zeph.  i.  13. 
v.  15. — Rom.  xii.  9. 
v.  18. — Is.  v.  19. 


Amos  v.  18 _ Jer.  xvii.  15. 

Joel  ii.  2. 
Zeph.  i.  15. 

vi.  3. — Ezek.  xii.  27. 

vi.  8. — Jer.  li.  14. 

vii.  16. — Ezek.  xxi.  2.  • 

viii.  4. — Jer.  xliv.  11. 

ix.  7. — Jer.  xlvii.  4. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  329 

38.  Obadiah.']  In  this  “vision  of  Obadiah,” 
the  name  of  the  seer  is  given  at  the  commencement; 
and  the  prophetical  authority  is  assumed  by  the 
writer  in  these  words— .“  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God.” 
The  greater  part  of  it  bears  a  close  resemblance 
in  substance,  and  very  nearly  in  expression,  to 
certain  passages  in  other  prophets — as  Jeremiah 
xlix,  and  Ezekiel  xxxv.  It  does  not  seem  to  be 
quoted,  for  the  confirmation  of  any  fact  or  doctrine, 
in  the  New  Testament — unless  its  undoubted 
place  in  the  book  of  the  minor  prophets,  entitles 
it  to  a  share  of  the  homage  rendered  to  that  book, 
when  referred  to  as  containing  words,  though  not 
to  be  found  in  Obadiah,  but  in  Amos.  The  sen¬ 
tence  in  1  Cor.  i.  19,  though  taken  generically  from 
scripture,  is  considered  to  be  from  Isaiah,  but  finds 
at  least  an  echo  in  this  kindred  verse  of  Obadiah. 

Shall  I  not  in  that  day,  saith  the  Lord,  even 
destroy  the  wise  men  out  of  Edom,  and  under¬ 
standing  out  of  the  mount  of  Esau  ?”  v.  8.  The 
remaining  examples  of  an  affinity  to  other  scrip¬ 
tures  are  given  below.* 

39.  Jonah. ]  For  the  existence  and  character 
of  this  most  ancient  of  the  prophets,  we  have  the 
evidence  of  contemporaneous  history  in  2  Kings 
xiv.  25.  “According  to  the  word  of  the  Lord 
God  of  Israel,  which  he  spake  by  the  hand  of  his 
servant  Jonah,  the  son  ol  Amittai,  the  prophet, 

Obadiah  10. — Ezek.  xxxv.  15. 

Amos  i.  1 1 . 

15. — Ezek.  xxxv.  15. 
21. — 1  Tim.  iv.  16 
James  v.  20. 

Luke  i.  63. 


*  See— 

Obaaian  1.— Jer.  xlix.  14. 

4.  xlix.  1  f. 

5.  xlix.  9. 
8.-18.  xxix.  14. 

Jer.  xlix.  7. 


330 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCR1 PTURE, 


which  was  of  Gath-hepher.”  His  name  is  an¬ 
nounced  at  the  commencement  of  the  prophecy, 
and  occurs  repeatedly  throughout ;  and  our  Saviour 
Himself  bears  him  express  testimony  in  the  follow¬ 
ing  words — “  A  wicked  and  adulterous  generation 
seeketh  after  a  sign ;  and  there  shall  no  sign  be 
given  unto  it,  but  the  sign  of  the  prophet  Jonas,” 
Matt.  xvi.  4.  See  also  Matt.  xii.  39,  40,  and 
Luke  xi.  29,  30.  Again — “  So  the  people  of 
Nineveh,  believed  God,  and  proclaimed  a  fast,  and 
put  on  sackcloth,  from  the  greatest  of  them,  even 
to  the  least  of  them,”  Jonah  iii.  5.  “  The  men 

of  Nineveh  shall  rise  in  judgment  with  this  gene¬ 
ration  and  shall  condemn  it;  because  they  repented 
at  the  preaching  of  Jonas;  and,  behold,  a  greater 
than  Jonas  is  here,”  Matt.  xii.  41.* 

40.  MicahJ]  There  is  a  very  noble  contem¬ 
poraneous,  or  rather  subsquent  testimony  given  to 
this  prophet  by  Jeremiah  (xxvi.  18) — who  not 
only  gives  his  name,  the  place  ol  his  nativity,  and 
the  age  in  which  he  flourished ;  but  makes  an  ex-  * 
press  quotation  from  his  writings.  “Micah  the 
Morasthite  prophesied  in  the  days  of  Hezekiah 
king  of  Judah,  and  spake  to  all  the  people  of 
Judah,  saying,  c  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  Zion 
shall  be  plowed  like  a  field,  and  Jerusalem  shall 
become  heaps,  and  the  mountain  of  the  house  as 
the  high  places  of  a  forest.’”  “Therefore  shall 
Zion,  for  your  sake,  be  plowed  as  a  field,  and  Jeru¬ 
salem  shall  become  heaps,  and  the  mountain  of  the 
house,  as  the  high  places  of  the  forest,”  Micah  iii. 

*  See  further — 

Jonah  iii.  5. — Luke  xi.  32. 


Jonah  iii.  9. — Joel  ii.  14. 
iv.  2. — Joel  ii.  13 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  331 


12.  The  following  are  quotations  from  Micah  in 
the  New  Testament — “  But  thou,  Beth-lehem 
Ephratah,  though  thou  be  little  among  the  thou¬ 
sands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  he  come  forth 
unto  me  that  is  to  be  Ruler  in  Israel,’’  Micah  v. 
2.  “  For  thus  it  is  written  by  the  prophet,  4  And 

thou  Bethlehem,  in  the  land  of  Juda,  art  not  the 
least  among  the  princes  of  Juda :  for  out  of  thee 
shall  come  forth  a  Governor,  that  shall  rule  my 
people  Israel,”’  Matt.  ii.  5,  6.  £t  See  also  John 
vii.  42. — “  For  the  son  dishonoured  the  father, 
the  daughter  riseth  up  against  her  mother,  the 
daughter-in-law  against  her  mother-in-law:  a  man’s 
enemies  are  the  men  of  his  own  house,”  Micah  vii. 
6.  £<  For  I  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance 

against  his  father,  and  the  daughter  against  her 
mother,  and  the  daughter-in-law  against  her 
mother-in-law.  And  a  man’s  foes  shall  be  they  of 
his  own  household,”  Matt.  x.  35,  36.  The 
name  of  the  prophet  is  given  at  the  commence¬ 
ment,  and  a  very  express  statement  is  made  bv 
him  of  his  own  inspiration — “  Truly  I  am  full  of 
power  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  and  of  judgment, 
and  of  might,  to  declare  unto  Jacob  his  transgres¬ 
sion,  and  to  Israel  his  sin,”  Micah  iii.  8.  He  was 
one  of  the  earlier  prophets ;  and,  when  his  writings 
are  compared  with  the  direct  history,  it  will  be 
found  that  they  shed  a  mutual  light  and  confirma¬ 
tion  on  each  other.* 


*  See  farther— - 
Micah  i.  2. — Is.  i.  2. 
i.  JO. — Jer.  vi.  26. 
11 — Is.  xlvii.  3. 

i  16.  xxii.  12. 


Micah  ii.  2. — Is.  v.  8. 
ii-  6.  xxx.  10. 

iv.  J — 3.  ii.  2,  &c. 

Zech.  viii.  21,  lie. 
iv.  3. — Joel  iii.  10. 


332 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


41.  Nahum. ~]  This  eloquent  and  sublime  pro¬ 
phecy  is  ushered  in  as  the  book  of  the  vision  of 
Nahum  the  Elkoshite.  The  first  clause  of  the 
15th  verse  of  the  first  chapter  is  almost  identical 
with  the  first  clause  of  Isaiah  lii.  7 — and  the  words 
are  quoted  as  written ,  or,  which  is  tantamount  to 
this,  as  scripture ,  by  Paul  in  Romans  x.  15.* 

42.  HabaJikuk .]  The  name  of  the  prophet  is 
given  here  also  at  the  outset  of  the  prophecy ;  and 
occurs  again  at  the  commencement  of  the  sublime 
prayer  in  the  third  chapter.  He  speaks  also  in 
his  own  person  in  ii.  1 — while  in  ii.  2,  he  quotes  the 
express  commandment  of  God  for  the  writing  of 
his  prophecy — and  this  in  order  that  it  may  be 
read,  “  that  he  may  run  that  readeth  it.”  The 
following  are  very  striking  and  satisfactory  quota¬ 
tions  from  this  sacred  writer.  “  Behold  ye  among 
the  heathen,  and  regard,  and  wonder  marvellously  : 
for  I  will  work  a  work  in  your  days,  which  ye 
will  not  believe,  though  it  be  told  you,”  Hab.  i.  5. 
“  Beware,  therefore,  lest  that  come  upon  you 
which  is  spoken  of  in  the  prophets;  Behold  ye 
despisers,  and  wonder,  and  perish  :  for  I  work  a 
work  in  your  days,  a  work  which  ye  shall  in  no 
wise  believe,  though  a  man  declare  it  unto  you,” 


Micah  iv.  6. — Zeph.  ill-  19. 

iv.  7. — Luke  i.  33. 

v.  5. — Epli.  v.  14. 

vi.  2. — Is.  i.  2. 

vi.  8. — Deut.  x.  12. 

vi.  15. — Haggai  i.  6. 
fii.  2. — Is.  lvii.  1. 

vii.  6. — Matt.  x.  21. 

Luke  xii.  53. 
vii.  11. — Amos  ix.  11. 


♦  See — 

Nahum  i.  15. — Is.  lii.  7. 

ii.  10. — Is.  xiii.  7,  8. 

iii.  1. — Ezek.  xxiv.  6,  9. 

Habak.  ii.  12. 
iii.  5. — Is.  xlvii.  2,  3. 

Ezek.  xvi.  37. 
iii.  11 _ Jer.  xxv.  17. 


ESPECIALLY  OP  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  333 


Acts  xiii.  40,  41. — c<  Though  it  tarry,  wait  for  it; 
because  it  will  surely  come,  it  will  not  tarry,”  Hab. 
ii.  3.  “For  yet  a  little  while,  and  he  that  shall 
come  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry,”  Heb.  x.  37. — 
“  But  the  just  shall  live  by  his  faith,”  Hab.  ii.  4. 
“  Now  the  just  shall  live  by  faith,”  Heb.  x.  38. 
“  As  it  is  written,  The  just  shall  live  by  faith,” 
Rom.  i.  17.  See  also  Gal.  iii.  11. — “For  the 
earth  shall  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the 
glory  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters,  cover  the  sea,” 
Hab.  ii.  14.  “For  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the 
sea,”  Isaiah  xi.  9.* 

43.  Zephaniah. ]  The  name  of  the  author  is 
incorporated  with  the  work  ;  and  the  work  itself  is 
announced  as  “  the  word  that  came  from  the  Lord.” 
The  references  from,  or  affinities  to  other  scripture 
are  given  below.f 

44.  Haggai.~\  The  existence  and  character  of 
this  prophet  are  attested  in  the  book  of  Ezra. 


*  See  further — 

Habak.  i.  4. — Jer.  xii.  1. 

i.  8.  v.  6. 

Ezek.  xvii.  3. 
Zeph.  iii.  3. 

i.  13 _ Jer.  xii.  1. 

ii.  1. — Is.  xxi.  8. 

ii.  4. — John  iii.  36. 
ii.  9. — Jer.  xxii.  13. 
ii.  12. — Ezek.  xxiv.  9. 

Nah.  iii.  1. 
ii.  16. — Jer.  xxv.  26. 
ii.  18. — Jer.  x.  8,  14. 
Zech.  x.  2. 

f  See — 

Zeph.  i.  13 _ Amos  v.  11. 

i.  15. — Jer.  xxx.  7. 

Joel  ii.  11. 


i.  18. — Ezek.  vii.  19. 

ii.  9,  10. — Jer.  xlviii.  2,  &c. 

Ezek.  xxv.  1,  &t\, 
ii.  14. — Is.  xxxiv.  11. 

ii.  15.  xlvii.  8. 

iii.  4 — Jer.  xxiii.  11. 

Hos.  ix.  7. 

Ezek.  xxii.  26. 

iii.  9. — Matt,  xxviii.  19. 
Acts  xv.  14,  17. 
John  iv  23. 

Rom.  xv.  6,  16. 
iii.  12. — 1  Cor.  i.  26. 
iii.  13. — Rom.  xi.  5. 
iii.  14. — Is.  xii.  6. 

liv.  1. 

iii.  18 _ Gal.  iv.  39. 

Col.  ii.  14,  20. 

iii.  19 — Mic.  iv.  7. 


334  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

“  Then  the  prophets,  Haggai  the  prophet,  and 
Zechariah  the  son  of  Iddo,  prophesied  unto  the 
Jews  that  were  in  Judah  and  Jerusalem  in  the 
name  of  the  God  of  Israel,”  Ezra  v.  1.  “  And 

the  elders  of  the  Jews  budded,  and  they  prospered 
through  the  prophesying  of  Haggai  the  prophet, 
and  Zechariah  the  son  of  Iddo,”  Ezra  vi.  14. 
Both  the  name  and  mission  of  this  prophet  are 
announced  at  the  commencement  of  the  book  ;  and 
not  only  in  i.  12,  is  he  designed  a  prophet;  but  in 
the  following  verse  is  he  spoken  of  as  “  the  Lord’s 
messenger,”  delivering  the  “  Lord’s  message  unto 
the  people.”  The  name  of  the  prophet  repeatedly 
occurs  in  the  course  of  his  prophecy ;  and  he  has 
the  benefit  of  at  least  one  very  decisive  quotation 
in  the  New  Testament.  “For  thus  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  Yet  once,  it  is  a  little  whde,  and 
I  will  shake  the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  the 
sea,  and  the  dry  land,”  Hag.  ii.  6.  “  But  now  he 

hath  promised,  saying,  Yet  once  more  I  shake  not 
the  earth  only,  but  also  the  heaven,”  Heb.  xii.  26.* 
45.  Zechariah .]  The  name  of  this  prophet  is 
associated  with  that  of  Haggai,  in  the  book  of 
Ezra — as  may  he  seen  from  the  quotations  given 
in  the  last  article.  It  is  also  introduced  at  the 
commencement  of  the  prophecy ;  and  is  repeated 
in  the  seventh  verse  of  the  first  chapter.  The  use 
of  the  first  person  occurs  everywhere  throughout 
the  book.  And  God  Himself  is  made  to  take  up 
the  word,  as  it  w  ere,  from  the  mouth  of  the  pro¬ 
phet,  and  to  speak  in  His  own  person — v.  4 ;  vii.  9  ; 
viii.  2,  &c.  There  are  many  illustrious  fcestimo- 

*  See  further — 

Haggai  i.  6. — Micah  vi.  14, 15.  1  Haggai  ii.  17. — Amos  iv.  9. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  335 


nies  in  the  Gcspels  to  the  prophetical  character  of 
this  book — “  Rejoice  greatly,  O  daughter  of  Zion  ; 
shout,  O  daughter  of  Jerusalem  ;  behold,  thy  King 
cometli  unto  thee ;  he  is  just,  and  having  salvation ; 
lowly,  and  riding  upon  an  ass,  and  upon  a  colt  the 
foal  of  an  ass,”  Zech.  ix.  9.  “  All  this  was  done, 

that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the 
prophet,  saying,  Tell  ye  the  daughter  of  Zion, 
Rehold,  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee,  meek,  and 
sitting  upon  an  ass,  and  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass,” 
Matt.  xxi.  4,  5.  See  also  John  xii.  14,  15. — “And 
the  Lord  said  unto  me,  ca3t  it  unto  the  potter : 
a  goodly  price  that  I  was  prized  at  of  them !  And 
I  took  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  and  cast  them  to 
the  potter  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,”  Zech.  xi.  13. 
“  And  they  took  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  the 
price  of  him  that  was  valued,  whom  they  of  the 
children  of  Israel  did  value  :  and  gave  them  for 
the  potter  s  field  as  the  Lord  appointed  me,”  Matt, 
xxvii.  9,  10. — “  They  shall  look  upon  rae  whom 
they  have  pierced,”  Zech.  xii.  10.  “And  again 
another  scripture  saith,  They  shall  look  on  him 

whom  they  pierced,”  John  xix.  37 _ “  Smite  the 

shepherd  and  the  sheep  shall  be  scattered,”  Zech. 
xm.  7.  “  For  it  is  written,  I  will  smite  the  shep¬ 

herd,  and  the  sheep  shall  be  scattered,”  Mark 
xiv.  27.  See  also  Matt.  xxvi.  31.* 

46.  MalachiJ]  I  he  name  of  the  prophet  is 
given  with  the  book  at  the  commencement  of  it. 


*  See  further — 

Zech.  i.  3.  —  Mai.  ii.  7. 
ii.  10. —  2  Cor.  vi.  16. 
\ii.  2 — Jude  9. 
viii.  16.— Eph.  iv.  25. 
*j:  13* — Matt.  xxvi.  15, 
xii.  10.— John  jqx.  34. 


Zech.  xii.  10. — Rev.  i.  7. 

xiii.  9. — 1  Pet.  i.  6,  7. 

xiv.  7. — Rev.  xxii.  5. 

xxi.  23. 

xiv.  8.  xxiL  1. 

xiv.  21.— R*t-  wL  27. 

xxii.  15. 


336 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


And  most  decisive  quotations  are  made  from  him 
by  the  Apostle  Paul,  and  the  Evangelists. — “  I 
loved  Jacob,  and  I  hated  Esau,”  Mai.  i.  2,  3. 
“  As  it  is  written,  Jacob  have  I  loved,  but  Esau 
have  I  hated,”  Rom.  ix.  13 — “  Behold  I  will  send 
my  messenger,  and  he  shall  prepare  the  way  before 
me,”  Malachi  iii.  1.  “  For  this  is  he  of  whom  it 

is  written,  Behold  I  send  my  messenger  before  thy 
face,  which  shall  prepare  thy  way  before  me,” 
Matt.  xi.  10.  See  also  Mark  i.  2,  and  Luke 
vii.  27 _ “  Behold,  I  will  send  you  Elijah  the  pro¬ 

phet.  And  he  shall  turn  the  heart  of  the  fathers 
to  the  children,  and  the  heart  of  the  children  to 
their  fathers,”  Malachi  iv.  5,  6.  And  he  shall 
go  before  him  in  the  spirit  and  poweT  of  Elias,  to 
turn  the  hearts  of  the  fathers  to  the  children,” 
Luke  i.  17.* 


47.  We  have  now  presented  all  the  scriptural 
testimonies  for  which  we  can  possibly  afford  room. 
There  is  no  such  mass,  and  no  such  firm  contex¬ 
ture  of  evidence,  for  the  existence  or  authority  of 
any  ancient  book,  as  we  have  for  the  canon  of  the 
Old  Testament.  The  strength  of  this  evidence 
does  not  altogether  lie  in  those  quotations  from 
the  later  writers,  wdiich  either  name  some  prior 
book  in  the  collection,  or  which  name  the  author 
of  it.  There  is  many  an  undoubted  quotation 


*  Sea  further — 

Mai.  ii.  10. — Eph.  iv.  6. 
iii.  1. — Luke  i.  76. 
iii.  7. — Zech.  L  3. 


Mai.  iv.  2. — Luke  i.  78. 
iv.  5. — Matt.  xi.  14. 

Mark  ix.  1 1. 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  337 

announcing  itself  to  be  such  by  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  introduced,  as  when  taken  generally 
from  “  scripture,”  or  when  said  to  be  a  thing  al¬ 
ready^  written or,  still  more  specifically,  when 
said  to  be  “  written  in  the  prophets or  lastly, 
when  said  to  have  been  spoken  by  God  Himself, 
and  when  what  is  thus  spoken  we  find  to  be  in  the 
Old  Testament.*  Over  and  above  these  we  can, 
apart  from  any  note  of  introduction  whatever, 
detect  the  words  of  a  later  writer  to  have  been  a 
quotation,  from  their  close  resemblance  to  the 
words  of  an  elder  one;  and  lastly  the  recital  of 
the  same  historical  facts  in  the  more  recent,  that 
we  find  to  be  narrated  in  the  more  ancient  scrip¬ 
tures,  may  be  argued  for  the  existence  of  the 
earlier  record  as  a  creditable  document  from  which 
the  information  has  been  taken ;  and  the  more  if 
it  be  the  only  record  that  has  come  down  to  us  of 
the  history  in  question.  There  is  a  far  greater 
likelihood,  that  the  innumerable  consistent  allu¬ 
sions  to  the  Jewish  history,  which  are  to  be  found 
in  the  later  scriptures,  were  derived  from  w'ritten 
memorials  than  from  oral  tradition — handed  down 
with  such  uniformity,  and  with  such  particularity, 
and  such  fulness,  through  a  track  of  centuries. 
And  we  may  be  sure  that  the  very  memorials 
which  furnished  the  information,  would  have  had 
infinitely  better  chance  of  being  transmitted  to 

•  “  But  now  he  hath  promised,  saying.  Yet  once  more  I  shake 
not  the  earth  only,  but  also  heaven,”  Heb.  xii.  26 — an  undoubt¬ 
ed  quotation  from  Haggai  ii.  6,  though  without  the  mention  of 
its  being  written  at  all,  either  by  Haggai  or  in  scripture.  It  is 
represented  as  the  voice  of  “  Him  that  speakefch  from  heaven^ 
and  many  other  instances  occur  of  such  virtual,  though  somewhat 
disguised  quotations. 

VOL.  IV. 


P 


338  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

later  times,  than  other  memorials,  which,  if  not 
worthy  of  being  consulted,  would  not  be  held 
worthy  of  being  preserved.  The  credit  in^vhich 
any  books  were  held  by  the  men  of  a  remote  age, 
is  our  best  guarantee  for  the  care  wherewith  they 
would  be  transmitted  to  their  children,  and  through 
them  onward  to  the  most  distant  posterity.  In 
other  words,  the  books  which  gave  to  the  Jews  at 
the  time  of  our  Saviour,  and  for  some  centuries 
before,  that  historical  knowledge  on  which  they 
placed  their  reliance,  must  be  the  very  books  that 
we  have  received  from  their  hands ;  and  thus,  in 
the  identity  of  statement  between  the  reputed 
later  and  the  reputed  earlier  of  these  sacred  writ¬ 
ings,  do  we  find  a  strong  evidence  for  the  reality 
of  the  earlier  writings.  For  the  full  impression 
of  this  argument,  we  must  divest  ourselves  of  the 
rooted  and  established  tendency  to  view'  the  Bible 
as  one  book — it  being  in  truth  an  aggregate  of 
distinct  books,  which  found  a  place  there  only 
because  of  the  credit  and  confidence  which  they 
enjoyed  in  ancient  times ;  and  on  which  account, 
they  are  entitled  to  all  the  greater  credit  and  con¬ 
fidence  from  us  in  the  present  day.  Each  testi¬ 
mony  is  just  the  more  valuable,  that  it  is  a  Bible 
testimony ;  and  when  viewed  therefore  what  each 
ought  to  be  as  an  independent  testimony,  never, 
may  it  well  be  said,  have  any  books  had  so  multi¬ 
tudinous  an  evidence,  and  that  too  evidence  of 
which  every  ingredient  taken  separately  is  of  such 
sterling  quality  and  weight,  as  the  books  of  the  Old 
Testament.  From  the  days  of  Moses,  each  succes¬ 
sive  period  has  borne  dow  nwards  safely  and  solidly 


especially  of  the  old  testament.  339 

the  memorials  of  the  one  that  went  before  it,  till 
all  at  length  reached  a  firm  landing-place,  in  the 
consent  and  testimony  of  our  Saviour  and  his 
Apostles — by  which  the  Hebrew  canon  has  been 
made  to  repose  on  the  stable  basement  of  all  the 
evidence  historical  and  moral,  which  can  be  alleged 
for  the  truth  of  Christianity.  The  canon  of  the 
Old  Testament  is  pillared  on  a  foundation  as 
strong  as  the  credibility  of  the  New.* 

48.  An  investigation  of  the  canon  of  the  Old, 
forms  the  best  preparative  for  those  investigations 
which  lead  to  the  establishment  and  vindication  of 
the  canon  of  the  New  Testament.  The  materials 
for  this  inquiry  are  to  be  found  in  Lardner ;  and 
a  very  good  digest  of  these  has  been  given  by 
Paley  in  his  evidences  of  Christianity.  Jones, 
with  many  excellent  considerations  on  the  subject, 
is  deficient  in  his  exhibition  of  the  positive  evidence  • 
for  our  actual  Christian  scriptures ;  and  he  has 
bestowed  his  main  strength  on  the  disproof  of  those 
spurious  or  pretended  scriptures,  which,  in  the 
name  of  gospels  or  epistles,  imposed  on  the  credu¬ 
lity  of  past  ages,  and  have  been  alleged  by  modem 
infidels,  for  the  purpose  of  casting  a  general  dis¬ 
paragement  and  discredit  on  the  Christian  religion. 
His  book  on  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament  is 
altogether  worthy,  however,  of  perusal,  by  the 
professional  student — while,  for  the  general  reader, 
we  would  recommend  Alexander  on  the  Canon,  as 

*  We  do  not  repeat  here,  though  it  be  a  consideration  of  the 
Utmost  possible  strength,  the  concurrence,  on  this  one  point  of 
tite  identity  of  their  scriptures,  between  Jews  and  Christians,  who 
•land  fiercely  opposed  in  almost  all  others. 


340 


ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 


a  good  though  brief  manual  upon  the  subject.  It 
must  be  obvious  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  that 
the  scriptural  evidence,  which  might  be  alleged  in 
such  force  and  fulness  for  the  canon  of  the  Old, 
must  be  very  scanty,  if  it  exist  at  all,  for  the  canon 
of  the  New  Testament — made  up,  as  it  has  been, 
not  by  successive  but  by  contemporaneous  authors. 
Their  references  to  the  writings  of  each  other  can, 
in  these  circumstances,  scarcely  be  looked  for, 
however  strong  and  valuable  the  concurrence  of 
their  independent  depositions  be,  in  regard  to  the 
great  and  common  subject  matter  of  all  their  writ¬ 
ings.  There  is  an  undoubted  reference  m  the 
writings  of  Peter  to  those  of  Paul,  with  this  most 
important  qualification  too,  that  he  as  good  as 
calls  them  scriptures ;  and  assigns  them  co-ordinate 
rank  and  authority  with  the  Jewish  scriptures. 

.  See  2  Peter  iii.  16 — where,  after  having  introduced 
the  epistles  of  Paul  to  the  notice  of  his  readers, 
he  complains  of  t&fcse  unlearned  and  unstable,  who 
wrest  them,  as  they  did  also  the  other  scriptures , 
.to  their  own  destruction.  It  has  also  been  con¬ 
tended  by  some,  that  Paul  in  Rom.  ii.  16,  makes 
a  reference  to  the  Gospel  of  Luke,  when  speaking 
of  4 4  my  gospel.”  This  is  more  doubtful.  But  to 
evince  the  great  importance  of  a  prior  investiga¬ 
tion  into  the  canon  of  the  Old,  ere  we  attempt  to 
investigate  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament — to 
prove,  in  short,  that,  even  for  the  object  of  estab¬ 
lishing  the  authority  of  the  Christian  scriptures, 
the  labour  of  this  chapter  has  not  been  thrown 
away- — it  should  be  remarked,  as  an  essential  step- 
ing-stone  to  the  latter  inquiry,  that  our  chief  argft- 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  341 

ment  for  the  esteem,  in  which  the  writings  of  our 
evangelists  and  apostles  were  held  from  the  earliest 
days  of  the  church,  is,  that  they  are  designed  by 
the  same  title,  and  that  quotations  from  them  are 
introduced  by  the  same  restricted  and  appropriate 
phrases,  as  the  more  ancient  are  in  the  more  re¬ 
cent  scriptures ;  and  as  the  Jewish  scriptures  are, 
both  by  Jews  and  Christians,  from  the  days  of  the 
New  Testament.  It  is  a  mighty  circumstance, 
that  Peter  should  do  the  same  homage  to  the 
epistles  of  Paul  that  he  does  to  the  sacred  writings 
of  the  Jews,  by  honouring  them  with  the  same 
title  cii  ypM^Mi — which  is  tantamount  to  saying, 
that  the  epistles  of  Paul  have  as  good  a  title  to  a 
place  in  the  Bible ,  as  the  Psalms  of  David  or  the 
Prophecies  of  Isaiah.  These  titles  and  peculiar 
phrases  do,  in  fact,  form  the  great  link  of  commu¬ 
nication  between  the  Hebrew  and  the  Christian 
argument  for  the  canonicity  of  their  respective 
scriptures  ;  or  rather  go  to  identify  them  both  into 
a  common  argument.  When  we  read  in  the  New 
Testament,  or  in  any  Jewish  author,  that  44  it  is 
written,”  we  may  expect  a  quotation  from  the 
Hebrew  scriptures ;  and  when  we  read  the  same 
words  in  a  Christian  father,  we  may  expect  a 
quotation  from  the  Christian  scriptures.  The 
latter,  in  fact,  designate  the  Hebrew  and  Christian 
scriptures,  and  quote  from  them  both  in  the  very 
same  w<ty.  The  language  which  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  uses,  when  signalizing  the  works  of  patriarchs 
and  prophets,  over  all  other  works,  is  bequeathed 
to  the  fathers  of  the  Christian  church ;  and  they 
make  use  of  the  very  same  language,  by  which  to 


342  ON  THE  CANON  OF  SCRIPTURE, 

signalize,  in  like  manner,  the  works  of  the  evange¬ 
lists  and  apostles.  We  find  through  the  New 
Testament  itself,  a  midway  passage  from  the  argu¬ 
ment  which  establishes  the  canon  of  the  Old  to  that 
which  establishes  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament; 
and  we  shall  find  it  is  by  the  very  same  midway  pas¬ 
sage,  that,  beginning  with  the  inspiration  of  the  Old 
Testament,  we  are  led  more  surely  and  clearly  than 
by  any  other  track,  to  the  inspiration  of  the  New 
In  both  arguments,  the  mighty  importance  of  that 
prior  investigation,  by  which  we  first  ascertain  what 
are  the  Hebrew  scriptures,  and  secondly  what  is 
the  degree  of  their  authority,  is  alike  obvious! 

49.  If  the  reader,  whether  learned  or  unlearned, 
shall  undertake  such  an  interior  examination  of 
scripture  as  we.  have  now  in  a  certain  degree 
exemplified,  he  will  find  it  laborious,  but  fruitful 
of  the  best  impressions  in  favour  of  its  perfect 
honesty  and  truth.  He  will  meet  with  many  thou¬ 
sand  coincidences,  which  no  impostor  could  ever 
have  devised;  and  such  evidences  of  reality,  all 
beyond  the  reach  of  imitation,  as  will  serve  to  con¬ 
vince  and  to  confirm  him,  in  a  manner  that  no 
statement  by  another  at  second  hand  can  possibly 
effectuate.  The  more  thoroughly  that  he  explores, 
the  more  will  the  instances  of  verisimilitude  multi¬ 
ply  upon  his  observation ;  till  he  at  length  sees 
the  semblance  to  be  a  substance,  and  he  will  feel 
himself  walking  on  the  ground  of  solid  hisft>ry,  and 
in  the  midst  of  actual  transactions.  It  is  thus  that 
the  Bible  as  it  has  been  called  its  own  best  inter¬ 
preter,  will  be  also  found  its  own  best  witness ; 
and  that,  not  a  single,  but  a  marvellously  sustained 


ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  34 3 

and  multiplied  testimony — for,  looking  to  the  com¬ 
position  of  this  volume,  it  is  not  at  the  mouth  of 
two  or  three,  but  at  the  mouth  at  least  of  thirty 
witnesses,  that  the  words  of  it  are  established 

/ 


CHAPTER  II. 

On  the  Inspiration  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments. 

1.  The  question  which  respects  the  Canon  of 
Scripture,  is  distinct  from  that  which  respects  the 
Inspiration  of  it.  The  object  of  the  one  is  to 
ascertain,  what  are  the  actual  books,  which  should 
be  received  into  this  collection  of  sacred  writings. 
The  object  of  the  other  is  to  ascertain,  what  are 
the  kind  and  degree  of  their  authority.  We  may 
allow  a  book  to  be  canonical,  and  yet  maintain 
opinions  of  all  sorts  and  varieties  in  regard  to  the 
fulness  or  the  partiality  of  its  inspiration.  The 
disciple  of  a  plenary  inspiration  may  deny  to  cer¬ 
tain  of  our  present  scriptural  books  their  title  to  a 
place  in  the  canon  ;  or  he  may  contend  that  certain 
ex-scriptural  books  should  also  have  occupancy 
there.  On  the  other  hand  the  disciple  of  a  partial 
and  limited  inspiration,  or  one  who  affirms  of  some 
books  in  scripture  as  the  prophetical  that  they  are 
divinely  inspired,  while  of  the  others  as  the  histo¬ 
rical  that  they  are  only  the  best  and  most  faithful 
of  all  human  compositions — he  may  be  perfectly 
satisfied  with  the  actual  composition  of  our  present 


344 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


Bible,  and  find  no  fault  either  in  defect  or  in  excess 
with  any  of  its  ingredients.  The  question  what 
ought  to  be  the  ingredients  of  this  composition,  is 
altogether  distinct  from  the  question  which  respects 
the  precise  quality  of  these  ingredients.  It  is  true 
that  the  canonical  are  signalized  above  all  other 
books,  and  are  invested  with  a  certain  religious 
authority  over  the  faith  and  consciences  of  men. 
But  still  it  remains  to  be  determined  in  how  far 
they  are  thus  signalized — by  what  height  or  at 
what  distance  are  they  elevated  above  them  ? 
What  is  the  amount  of  this  distinction  ?  Whether 
these  scriptures  shall  be  received  as  absolutely 
perfect  and  infallible  ? — or  must  we  concede  to  a 
certain  extent  that  they  are  tinged  with  human 
infirmity,  and  must  be  received  some  of  them  &*fc 
least  as  the  productions  only  of  creditable  men, 
but  not  out  and  out  as  unerring  records  both  of 
the  history  which  they  narrate  and  of  the  mind  and 
purposes  of  the  unerring  God?  After  the  canon 
of  the  scripture  is  fixed,  these  are  questions  which 
remain  to  be  settled  under  the  all-important  theme 
of  the  degree  of  their  inspiration. 

2.  We  have  already  said,  that  to  begin  our  in¬ 
quiry  with  the  Inspiration  of  the  Old  Testament 
forms  our  best  outset  for  the  establishment  of  the 
Inspiration  of  the  New.  In  regard  to  many  of 
the  writers  in  the  former  collection,  such  is  the 
profusion  of  testimonies  as  to  God  speaking  in 
them,  and  the  word  which  they  uttered  and  put 
into  a  book  being  the  very  word  of  God,  that  we 
shall  not  attempt  a  full  or  adequate  exhibition  of 
them.  Moses  “  wrote  all  the  words  of  the  law.” 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS.  345 

T.  he  spirit  of  tliG  Lord  spoke  by  me,”  says 
David.  “  David  in  spirit  calls  him  Lord.”  “  The 
Holy  Ghost  spoke  by  the  mouth  of  David.” 
“  The  Holy  Ghost  sayeth,  To-day  if  ye  will  hear 
his  voice”— words  spoken  through  the  mouth,  and 
transmitted  through  the  pen  of  David.  “  Thou, 
God,  by  the  mouth  of  thy  servant  David,  hast 
sa'd,  Why  did  the  heatnen  avenge,  ’  &c.  God  said 
to  Moses,  ii  I  will  raise  them  up  a  prophet  like 
unto  thee,  and  will  put  my  words  in  his  mouth, 
and  he  shall  speak  unto  them  all  that  I  shall  com¬ 
mand  them.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  who¬ 
soever  will  not  hearken  to  my  words  which  he 
shall  speak  in  my  name,  I  will  require  it  of  him. 
But  the  prophet  which  shall  presume  to  speak  a 
word  in  my  name  which  I  have  not  commanded 
him  to  speak,  or  that  shall  speak  in  the  name  of 
other  gods,  even  that  prophet  shall  die.”  In  these 
words  we  read,  not  only  the  inspiration  of  Moses 
and  of  Christ,  but  the  inspiration  of  all  the  true 
prophets  whom  Christ  would  have  acknowledged; 
and  we  are  accordingly  told  that  G  od  “  spake  by 
the  mouth  of  his  holy  prophets,  which  have  been 
since  the  world  began.”  We  cannot  afford  to  go 
in  detail  over  the  proofs  of  the  inspiration  of  these 
prophets  separately.  ^  But,  simply  adverting  to 
the  positive  history  in  the  books  of  Kings  and 
Chronicles  that  we  have  for  the  preternatural 
communications  of  God  with  Solomon,  we  shall 
but  remark  of  Isaiah  that  he  ushered  in  what  he 


346 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


spake  by,  44  saith  the  Lord,’  and  44  the  Lord 
hath  spoken and  that  the  44  Holy  Ghost  spoke 
by  Esaias” — of  Jeremiah,  that  “  The  word  of  the 
Lord  came  unto  him  and  44  The  Lord  said  unto 
him,  Behold  I  have  put  my  words  in  thy  mouth  j” 
and  the  commandment  given  to  him,  was  to 
44  write  all  the  words  that  I  have  spoken  unto  thee 
in  a  book” — of  Ezekiel,  that  he  saw  visions  of 
God ;  that  the  44  Spirit  entered  into  him that 
the  44  Spirit  lift  him  up that  44  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  was  upon  him,  and  carried  him  about  in  the 
spirit  of  the  Lord and  that,  ever  and  anon,  44  the 
word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  him” — of  Daniel,  that 
he  saw  visions,  and  had  revelations  that  he  put 
into  a  book — of  Hosea,  that  in  calling  on  the 
people  to  hear  him,  he  calls  them  to  4  4  hear  the 
word  of  the  Lord” — of  Joel,  that  his  prophecy  is 
styled  44  the  word  of  the  Lord  which  came  unto 
Joel” — of  Amos,  that  his  sayings  are  given  re¬ 
peatedly  under  the  form  of  44  thus  saith  the  Lord” 

. — of  Obadiah  in  like  manner,  who,  propounding 
his  44  vision,”  begins  with  44  thus  saith  the  Lord” 
— of  44  the  word  of  the  Lord  that  came  unto  Jonah” 
— of  44  the  word  of  the  Lord  that  came  unto 
Micah,”  who  was  44  full  of  power  by  the  spirit  of 
the  Lord” — of  the  44  vision  of  Nahum” — of  the 
44  Lord  answering”  Habakkuk,  and  bidding  him 
44  write  the  vision,  that  he  may  run  that  readeth 
it” — of  44  the  word  of  the  Lord  that  came  unto 
Zephaniah,”  who  in  consequence  speaks  in  his 
name,  and  announces  that. 44  thus  saith  the  Lord” — 
of  the  word  of  the  Lord  having  come  by  Ilaggai, 
who  begins  to  prophesy  with  44  thus  speaketh  the 


THE  OLD  AN D  NEW  TESTAMENTS.  347 


Lord  of  hosts,  saying” — of  the  word  of  the  Lord 
having  come  to  Zechariah,  who  saw  visions  and 
held  converse  with  the  angels  of  God — and  lastly, 
of  Malachi,  whose  prophecy  is  in  the  terms  of  a 
direct  communication  from  God  himself,  speaking 
Hi  his  own  person,  “  I  will  send  my  messenger,” 
u  I  will  come  near  to  you  to  judgment,”  “  I  am  the 
Lord,  I  change  not.” 

3.  Now  that  the  apostles  were  similarly  in¬ 
spired,*  may  be  inferred  from  the  promises  made 
to  them  by  the  Saviour.  “  It  is  not  ye  that 
speak,  but  the  spirit  of  your  Father  which  speak- 
eth  in  you.”  “  It  is  not  ye  that  speak,  but  the 
Holy  Ghost.”  “  The  Holy  Ghost  shall  teach 
you  in  the  same  hour  what  ye  ought  to  say.” 
“  He  shall  abide  with  you  for  ever,  even  the  spirit 
of  truth.”  “  The  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father 
will  send  in  my  name,  he  shall  teach  you  all 
things,  and  bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance, 
whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you.”  “  When  he 
the  spirit  of  truth  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into 
all  truth.”  The  spirit,  we  read  historically,  did 
come.  The  illumination  was  given ;  and,  as  the 
fruit  of  it,  the  apostles  could  say,  “  they  had  the 
mind  of  Christ.”  “  They  were  all  filled  with  the 
Holy.  Ghost.”  “  The  spirit  gave  them  utterance.” 
“  They  spake  the  word  of  God  with  boldness.” 
“  Which  things  we  speak,”  says  Paul,  “  not  in  the 
words  which  man’s  wisdom  teacheth,  but  which 
the  Holy  Ghost  teacheth.”  “  Christ  speaking  in 
me.”  “  So  ordain  I  in  all  the  churches.”  “  The 

*  The  identity  of  the  inspirations  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa¬ 
ment  seems  strongly  pointed  at  in  2  Cor.  iv.  13. 


348 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


things  I  write  unto  you  are  the  commandments  of 
the  Lord.”  44  My  speech  and  my  preaching  is  in 
demonstration  of  the  spirit  and  of  power.”  44  We 
speak  the  wisdom  of  God.”  44  Ye  received  it  not 
as  the  word  of  man,  but  as  it  is  in  truth  the  word 
of  God.”  44  It  seemed  good  unto  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  unto  us.”  These  are  direct  proofs  from  the 
New  Testament,  of  the  inspiration  of  the  apostles. 
But  what  gives  such  importance  to  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  evidence  for  the  inspiration  of  the  prophets 
is,  the  similarity  in  point  of  endowment  and  of 
authority,  which  is  alleged  to  have  obtained,  be¬ 
tween  the  teachers  of  the  Old  and  those  of  the 
New  dispensation.  44  God,  who  at  sundry  times, 
and  in  divers  manners  spake  in  time  past  unto  the 
fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days 
spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son.”  44  That  ye  may  be 
mindful  of  the  words  which  were  spoken  before,  by 
the  holy  prophets,  and  of  the  commandments  of  us 
the  apostles  of  the  Lord  and  Saviour.”  44  We  are 
built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  pro¬ 
phets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner¬ 
stone.” 

4.  But  many  are  willing  to  admit  the  inspira¬ 
tion  both  of  prophets  and  apostles,  who  stand  in 
doubt  of  certain  of  the  other  scriptural  writers 
For  aught  we  assuredly  know,  the  historical,  and 
some  of  the  other  books  in  the  Old  Testament, 
may  have  been  written  by  men,  not  invested  with 
the  prophetical  office ;  and  we  do  assuredly  know 
that  the  Gospels  of  Mark  and  Luke,  with  the 
book  of  Acts,  were  written  by  men  not  investep 
with  the  apostolical  office.  In  regard  to  many  of 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS.  349 

the  elder  scriptures,  so  far  from  knowing  whether 
the  men  who  wrote  them  were  inspired,  we  do  not 
even  know  the  names  of  their  authors.  And  be¬ 
sides,  we  might  know  of  certain  writers  that  they 
were  at  times  visited  with  extraordinary  com¬ 
munications  from  on  high,  or  were  occasionally 
inspired ;  but  when  the  question  relates  to  a  com 
position,  of  which  perhaps  they  were  the  undoubted 
authors,  the  writing  of  it  might  not  have  been  one 
of  these  occasions.  They  might  not  have  been 
under  the  prompting  or  guidance  of  this  heavenly 
power,  when  writing  the  book  in  question.  They 
might  not  have  been  inspired  ad  liunc  effectum. 
No  one  who  has  a  general  faith  in  the  records  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament,  ^resting  on  the  com¬ 
mon  evidences  of  their  general  credibility,  can 
doubt  the  special  communications  which  Solomon 
received  from  God.  But  this  does  not  settle  the 
question,  whether  he  was  under  the  special  and 
infallible  direction  of  God  in  writing  the  book  of 
Proverbs,  or  of  Ecclesiastes,  or  of  the  Canticles — . 
sc  as  that  these  should  be  regarded  as  the  Divine 
workmanship,  God  himself  being  the  author  of 
them.  Nothing  that  has  yet  been  produced,  in 
behalf  of  the  words  and  writings  of  those  men,, 
who  properly  and  strictly  were  prophets,  or  of 
those  whom  scripture  has  fully  equalled  to  them  as 
being  apostles,  can  serve  to  establish  the  inspira¬ 
tion  of  the  historical  or  certain  of  the  poetical 
books  in  the  Old  Testament;  or  the  inspiration  of 
two  of  the  Gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
in  the  New. 

5.  Now,  to  meet  this  allegation  of  deficiency, 


350 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


snd  the  demand  founded  upon  it,  let  it  be  observed 
that  there  are  two  forms  in  which  a  testimony  re* 
garding  inspiration  might  be  given.  It  is  an 
ascription  which  either  might  be  given  to  the 
author,  or  which  might  be  given  to  his  work. 
Phe  affirmation  might  be  made  that  Solomon  was 
inspired  to  write  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes ;  or, 
without  the  mention  of  Solomon  at  all,  it  might  be 
affirmed,  that  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes  is  the  pro¬ 
duct  of  inspiration.  And  in  like  manner,  we  may 
know  nothing  of  the  human  authorship  of  the 
books  of  Joshua,  and  Judges,  and  Ruth,  and 
Samuel,  and  the  Kings,  and  Chronicles ;  and  yet, 
we  might  have  abundant  evidence  of  their  divine 
authorship — for  thmigh  nothing  may  have  been 
said  of  the  penmen  of  these  books,  viewed  as 
writers ;  enough  may  have  been  said  of  the  books 
themselves,  viewed  as  works.  Now  it  is  this 
which  gives  such  mighty  importance  to  the  voces 
signatce — the  special  designation  that  rested  ex¬ 
clusively,  and  by  appropriation,  on  the  Hebrew 
selection  of  sacred  writings,  and  were  applied  to 
none  others.  No  one,  of  our  own  day,  would 
misunderstand  either  the  application  or  extent  of 
that  most  familiar  of  all  names,  the  Bible  ;  and 
every  one  knows  that  Ruth,  and  the  Lamentations, 
and  Zechariah,  form  parts  of  the  Bible.  And  the 
name  of  scripture,  or  scriptures,  or  «/  ygu<pca,  or 
tcc  iioa  ygccf/jgjCCTct,  or  rcc  \oyiu ;  tov  Osou,  stood 
expressly  in  the  place,  and  answered  all  the  pur- 
.  poses  of  our  own  names  the  Bible,  and  the  Holy 
scriptures,  or  the  Old  and  New  Testament.  We, 
of  the  present  age,  might  not  know  the  author  of 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS. 


351 


Rut'.. ;  but  we  know  that  Ruth  is  in  the  Bible — • 
and,  without  being  informed  who  the  author  of  this 
particular  book  was,  without  even  the  information 
of  it  in  particular  being  inspired,  we,  if  credibly 
informed  that  the  whole  Bible  was  inspired,  would 
thenceforth  believe  in  the  inspiration  of  the  book 
of  Ruth,  as  part  and  parcel  of  that  Bible.  And 
the  very  question  on  which  we  have  been  engaged, 
when  labouring  to  determine  whether  this  one 
and  that  other  book  was  canonical,  is,  whether  it 
entered  as  a  constituent,  or  formed  an  integral 
part  of  the  Jewish  scriptures.  If  first  we  have 
testimony  for  the  book  of  Kings  being  in  scrip¬ 
ture,  even  that  scripture  recognised  by  all  the 
Jews,  quoted  by  the  apostles,  and  sanctioned  by 
the  Saviour  himself ;  and  afterwards  have  the  in¬ 
formation  which  can  be  depended  on,  that  all 
scripture  is  inspired — we  require  nothing  further 
to  be  satisfied  of  the  inspiration  of  the  book  of 
Kings.  Once  its  rightful  place  in  the  canon  oi 
scripture  is  determined ;  and  then,  whatever 
qualities  of  worth  and  perfection  belong  to  scrip¬ 
ture  generally,  must  belong  to  this  book  par¬ 
ticularly.  The  settlement  of  the  question  whether 
or  not  a  book  is  canonical,  leads,  by  a  direct 
transition,  to  the  settlement  of  the  question 
whether  or  not  that  book  is  inspired. 

6.  There  is  a  two-fold  advantage  in  those  testi¬ 
monies,  which  speak,  not  of  the  powers  imparted 
to  the  writer,  but  of  the  properties  impressed  upon 
the  book ;  and,  more  especially,  when  these  are 
predicated,  not  of  one  particular  book,  but  ot  the 
whole  collection  comprised  under  the  general  name 


352 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


of  scripture.  The  first  is  that  we  learn,  what 
is  the  amount  of  homage  that  we  might  ren¬ 
der,  and  what  the  degree  of  confidence  we  might 
repose,  even  in  those  parts  of  the  Bible  of  which 
the  authors  have  not  been  named,  and  of  whose 
qualifications  as  messengers  from  God  to  man  we 
have  never  been  told.  The  writings  of  the  pro¬ 
phets  themselves  have  a  fulness  of  credit  given  to 
them  from  testimonies  of  this  form,  which  they 
might  not  otherwise  have  possessed.  For  though 
repeatedly  told  of  their  supernatural  converse  with 
heaven,  we  are  not  told  that  the  whole  of  their 
respective  books  were  penned  under  the  guidance 
of  inspiration.  But  the  term  scripture  covers  the 
whole  of  their  books,  and  comprehends  also  the 
historical  and  the  poetical.  From  the  lack  of 

testimonies  in  one  particular  form,  we  are  left 

uncertain  who  the  authors  were  of  most  of  the 

historical  books,  and  are  nowhere  told  of  the 

inspiration  of  the  writers ;  but  this  is  completely 
made  up  by  the  abundance  of  testimonies  in  an¬ 
other  particular  form,  and  which  speak  to  us  most 
distinctly  and  decisively  of  the  inspiration  of  the 
writings.  We  are  not  told  of  particular  books, 
that  they  were  written  by  God’s  messengers.  But 
we  are  told  of  the  books  themselves,  that  they 
form  God’s  message.  In  fact,  the  second  is  a 
better  form  than  the  first.  A  book  may  be  writ¬ 
ten  by  a  divine  messenger,  and  yet  may  not  have 
been  written,  or  at  least  not  all  of  it  have  been 
written  by  him  in  that  capacity  ;  and  so,  for  ought 
we  know,  there  might  be  a  mixture  in  it  of  the 
human  with  the  divine,  of  the  earthly  with  the 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS.  353 

heavenly.  Not  so  when  informed,  generally  and 
without  any  specified  exceptions,  of  the  book  being 
a  divine  message ;  for  then  we  read  the  whole  of 
it  with  equal  reverence,  or  at  least  with  equal 
reliance  on  all  its  contents — with  equal  faith  in  one 
and  ail  of  its  passages. 

7.  But  another  and  no  less  important  advan¬ 
tage  of  testimonies  regarding  inspiration  in  the 
second  form,  is  that  they  supersede  all  the  unwar¬ 
rantable,  and  we  would  say  all  the  senseless  and 
unphilosophical  speculation,  in  which  the  impug- 
ners,  and  occasionally  even  the  defenders  of  a 
plenary  inspiration,  have  indulged,  On  the  modes 
and  degrees  of  inspiration.  In  much  that  has 
been  said  by  these  scholastics,  not  of  the  middle 
ages  but  of  the  last  and  even  of  the  present  cen¬ 
tury,  on  the  subjects  of  guidance  and  superintend¬ 
ence  and  elevation  and  infusion,  we  can  perceive 
nothing  but  an  illegitimate  attempt  to  lift  that 
veil,  which  screens  from  our  discernment  the 
arcana  of  a  hidden  operation — reminding  us  some¬ 
what  of  the  hopeless  and  irrational  attempts,  in 
other  days,  to  seize  upon  and  to  define  the  occult 
qualities  of  matter.  Instead  of  being  satisfied  to 
know  of  the  virtues  and  properties  of  the  resulting 
commodity,  nothing  will  appease  their  spirit  of 
ambitious  inquiry,  till  discovery  has  been  made  of 
the  process  of  the  manufacture.  Now  enough  for 
ns  to  know  of  the  result.  For  the  imaginations  of 
men  as  to  the  modus  operand i,  we  infinitely  prefer 
the  palpable  testimonies  of  Christ  and  his  apostles 
as  to  the  qualities  of  the  opus  operatum ;  and, 
without  prying  into  the  distinctions  of  Christian,  in 


354 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


every  way  as  fanciful  as  those  of  Jewish  doctors  of 

old,  between  one  kind  of  inspiration  and  another _ 

it  is  enough  for  us  to  learn,  that  the  Bible  out 
and  out  is  perfect,  that  the  Bible  is  an  infallible 
rule  both  ot  faith  and  manners. 

8.  Now  in  regard  to  the  first  of  these  advan¬ 
tages,  how  does  the  matter  stand  ?  There  is  a 
book  of  special  designation,  and  claiming  from  the 
earliest  times  to  stand  apart  from  all  human  com¬ 
positions,  and  that  because  of  the  high  character 
which  it  assumes  as  the  word  of  God.  From  the 
age  of  miraculous  evidence,  there  has  been,  a  dis¬ 
tinct  and  a  definite  title  to  mark  this  book,  and 
signalize  it  from  all  others,  just  as  effectually  as 
that  appellative  the  Bible  is  understood  by  every 
peasant  in  Christendom,  to  specialize  a  certain 
volume  which  professes  to  be  the  word  of  God, 
and  in  this  respect  to  hold  an  infinite  superiority 
over  all  the  other  authorship  in  the  world.  But, 
o  (ZipXog,  the  Bible,  does  not  separate  this  volume 
more  from  all  other  books,  than  ca  ygaQai,  the 
wiitings  in  the  days  of  the  Old  Testament,  separ¬ 
ated  a  part  of  that  volume,  or  in  the  days  of  the 
apostles  and  Christian  fathers  separated  the  whole 
of  it  from  all  other  writings.  This  designation 
v  c.s  appliea  kcct  to  the  Jewish  Scriptures, 

by  the  Hebrews;  to  both  the  Jewish  and  the 
Christian  Scriptures  by  the  disciples  of  Jesus; 
and,  by  general  consent  and  estimation  on  their 
part,  stood  distinguished  from  all  the  other  writ¬ 
ings  in  the  world — as  being  the  product  of  God’s 
own  wisdom  and  will,  instead  of  being  either  framed 
by  the  wisdom  or  brought  into  existence  by  the 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS. 


355 


will  of  man.  Under  this  title  thus  understood, 
does  our  Saviour  refer  to  them ;  and  the  sanction 
given  in  the  New  Testament  to  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  makes  it  in  fact  an  easier  task,  to  establish 
by  argument  the  canonical  authority  of  the  whole 
Jewish  scriptures,  than  that  of  some  of  the  separate 
pieces  which  enter  into  the  scriptures  of  Chris¬ 
tians.  Egewc&TS  tccot  ygcupag,  search  the  scriptures, 
saith  the  Lord  to  his  countrymen — a  direction  as 
distinct  and  unequivocal  to  them,  as  search  the 
Bible  would  be  to  us.  On  another  occasion  He 
said  to  the  Jews  Qu  'hwcncii  A vOqmt  q  ygcctpq, 
Scripture  cannot  be  broken — a  term  comprehen¬ 
sive  of  all  and  sundry  that  now  enters  into  the 
Old  Testament,  and  by  which  he  homologates 
every  distinct  piece  that  enters  into  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  as  at  present  constituted.  Tlu<r/]  ygatprj 
0&OTi/svcrog,  all  scripture  is  the  breath  and  inspira¬ 
tion  of  God,  said  the  apostle  Paul;  and  this  he 
affirmed  to  people  who  had  no  other  understanding 
of  the  youip'/],  than  just  the  very  collection  in  all 
its  parts  from  Genesis  to  Malachi  that  we  have  in 
our  Bibles  at  this  day.  But  we  need  not  multiply 
quotations  on  a  matter  so  obvious,  as  that,  in  the 
days  of  Christ  and  His  apostles,  this  ygGC<pq 
or  ypcctpai  formed  the  appropriate  and  universally 
recognised  title  of  a  volume,  that  w  as  held  to  be 
the  record  of  God’s  communications  to  the  world. 
And  then  when  the  volume  was  augmented  by 
additional  communications  from  Him,  and  they 
too  were  admitted  into  the  volume,  the  very  title 
remained  with  it  and  served  as  a  common  designa¬ 
tion  to  the  Jewish  and  Christian  Scriptures.  It 


356 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


is  in  one  of  Peter’s  epistles,  where  we  receive  the 
first  notice  of  this  extension;  for  there  at  least 
some  of  the  epistles  of  Paul,  that  is  as  many  as 
were  in  existence  at  the  time  when  Peter  wrote, 
are  put  on  the  same  footing  as  the  Old  Testament — 
its  different  parts  being  still  rag  XoiTrag  ygcctpag,  thus 
placing  these  productions  of  Paul  on  a  level  with 
the  Old  Testament ;  and  referring  to  them  as  parts 
of  those  writings  which  secundum  excellentiam  are 
styled  yputpui,  or  as  we  should  express  it — the 
Bible.  This  consecrated  term  then,  authorized 
by  our  Saviour  himself,  as  the  one  which  distin¬ 
guishes  what  we  now  receive  as  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures,  and  extended  by  his  immediate  follow¬ 
ers  to  what  we  now  receive  as  the  Christian  Scrip¬ 
tures,  till  at  length  in  the  third  century  restricted 
to  the  very  collection  of  pieces  which  make  up 
our  present  canon,  has,  thus  sanctioned  in  the  days 
of  highest  and  purest  authority,  been  made  ever 
since  to  rest  exclusively  on  the  book  which  in 
general  understanding  is  the  depository  of  God’s 
communications  to  the  world.  This  is  our  first 
advantage  from  the  testimonies  of  that  particular 
form  which  we  are  now  considering.  They  lead 
us  to  extend  our  respects  and  give  our  reliance  to 
the  whole  volume  of  scripture. 

9.  There  is  a  second  advantage  in  this  distinct 
and  definite  way  by  which  there  has  been  segre¬ 
gated  a  volume,  under  a  title  understood  by  all,  as 
expressive  of  its  being  the  word  of  God,  in  contra¬ 
distinction  to  the  word  of  man ;  and  in  this  cha¬ 
racter  recognised  by  Christ  and  the  apostles  in 
reference  to  the  Old  Testament — by  the  apostles 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS.  357 

and  first  Christians  in  reference  to  the  New.  In 
regard  to  the  former,  there  is  no  question  that  the 
canon  of  scripture  as  received  by  the  Jews  in  the 
days  of  our  Saviour,  who  has  given  them  His 
express  sanction,  is  identical  in  all  its  parts  with 
our  present  Old  Testament  ;  and,  in  regard  to  the 
latter,  there  is  a  clear  and  broad  line  of  division, 
between  the  writings  which  enter  into  our  present 
New  Testament,  and  all  others  pretending  to  a 
similar  authority.  Here  then  on  the  whole  is  a 
volume  with  a  most  distinct  and  declared  barrier  of 
separation  thrown  around  it — all  that  is  without,  in 
the  way  of  authorship,  being  esteemed  as  the  product 
of  human  wisdom ;  all  that  is  within  being  testified 
by  the  workers  of  miracles  and  the  bearers  of 
undoubted  prophecies,  to  be  the  product  of  divine 
wisdom — to  be  the  scripture  which  cannot  be 
broken,  to  be  all  given  by  inspiration  of  God. 
Thus  was  the  Old  Testament  isolated  and  set 
apart,  in  this  character  of  high  authority,  even  the 
authority  of  heaven,  by  Jesus  Christ  and  his  im¬ 
mediate  disciples;  and  thus  also  has  the  New 
Testament  been  in  like  manner  signalized — and 
that  just  by  as  great  a  weight  of  testimony,  as  • 
goes  to  accredit  the  miracles,  and  every  "thing  else 
on  which  the  divinity  of  our  religion  is  upholden. 
We  have  the  overhearing  tradition  of  all  ecclesias¬ 
tical  antiquity,  for  the  sacred  and  separate  charac¬ 
ter  of  a  book,  now  stamped  by  the  designation  of 
the  Bible;  and  if  evidence  like  this  is  to  be  set 
aside,  there  remains  little  or  no  evidence,  on  which 
to  base  even  the  humblest  of  those  pretensions, 
that  the  most  meagre  of  nominal  Christians  ever 


358 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


advanced  on  the  side  of  Christianity.  Grant  then 
of  this  ygcctpq,  a  title  as  restricted,  and  appropriate, 
and  expressive  of  the  general  understanding  then, 
that  the  book  so  designated  was  the  word  of  God 
as  the  title  scripture  is  now,  and  containing  at 
that  time  all  the  pieces  which  enter  into  our  scrip¬ 
ture  at  present ;  that  it  held  forth  to  the  eyes  of 
the  Christian  world,  and  has  done  so  from  the 
earliest  ages  of  our  religion,  the  book  of  God’s 
revelation  to  man — what  else  could  in  these  cir¬ 
cumstances  be  the  understanding  of  men,  than 
that  plainly  within  the  limit  of  this  book  they  held 
converse  with  that  which  emanated  from  God, 
whereas  without  this  limit  they  held  converse  with 
but  that  which  emanated  from  man  ?  This  book 
stood  forth  to  the  general  sense  and  understand¬ 
ing  of  the  faithful,  peculiarized  by  this  distinction, 
that  it  contained  the  words  of  God’s  wisdom — 
whereas  all  other  books  contained  but  the  words 
of  man’s  wisdom.  It  served  the  purpose  of  a  most 
intelligible  and  easily  recognised  limit — when  thus 
made  to  know,  that,  within  the  enclosure  of  a  book 
thus  signalized  and  singled  forth,  the  ground  was 
holy,  and  that  the  language  addressed  to  them 
there  was  the  language  of  heaven  ;  whereas,  with¬ 
out  the  enclosure,  the  ground  was  common,  and  its 
language  was  the  language  of  earth.  In  such  a 
state  of  matters,  there  could  be  no  mistake  and  no 
misplacing  of  confidence.  Men  would  know  dis¬ 
tinctly  when  it  was  that  the  words  they  were 
reading  might  be  implicitly  trusted  as  the  words 
of  God;  and  when  it  was  that  they  might  be 
judged  or  questioned  as  the  words  of  a  fellow 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS.  359 

mortal.  It  was  indispensable,  we  say,  for  men’s 
guidance,  that  they  should  have  a  distinct  ana 
absolute  understanding  on  this  subject;  and  no¬ 
thing  could  serve  the  purpose  better  than  just  an 
isolated  book  whose  visible  margin,  as  it  were, 
separated  and  marked  off  that  which  was  of  divine 
inspiration  from  that  which  was  of  human  inven¬ 
tion  or  human  judgment.  But  when,  instead  of 
this,  we  are  told  that  the  limit  does  not  lie  around 
the  book,  but  meanders  in  some  obscure  and  un- 
traceable  way  within  it — when  taught  to  believe, 
as  we  are  by  the  advocates  of  a  partial  inspiration, 
that  man’s  words  as  well  as  God’s  words  are  there, 
and  that,  to  find  the  line  of  demarcation  between 
them,  we  have  not  as  every  plain  and  unsophisti¬ 
cated  man  wont  to  imagine,  we  have  not  to  make 
a  circuit  around  the  four  quarters  of  the  Bible, 
but  to  make  incursion  within  the  fence,  and  there 
separate  the  precious  from  the  comparatively  vile 
— when  deprived  of  the  palpable  criterion  we  had 
formerly,  which  was  simply  and  surely  that  this 
book  is  the  depository  of  God’s  revelation,  and  all 
its  contents  are  to  be  honoured  and  regarded  as 
such,  we  are  sent  a  rummaging  among  these  con¬ 
tents,  as  if  partly  divine  and  partly  human — and, 
without  any  such  criterion  as  we  had  before  by 
which  to  discriminate  between  them— we  are 
thrown  adrift  among  the  ambiguities  of  a  question 
where  all  is  loose  and  indeterminate,  and  are  left 
at  a  loss  to  know  what  we  shall  trust  as  the  say¬ 
ings  of  God,  and  what  we  shall  treat  as  the  sayings 
of  a  fallible  mortal  like  ourselves.  The  separation 
between  them  was  trodden  under  foot,  when  the 


350  ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 

outer  wall  of  the  court  was  taken  down ;  and  by 
the  giving  up  of  a  universal  inspiration,  we  are  left 
without  a  Bible — for  we  are  left  .to  guess  as  we 
may  when  it  is  or  when  it  is  not,  that  the  voice 
speaketh  to  us  from  heaven.  It  may  well  be  said 
to  emit  an  uncertain  sound,  when  thus  made 
uncertain  of  the  quarter  where  the  sound  comes 
from ;  nor  can  we  imagine  ought  more  precarious, 
than  when  given  to  understand,  that  there  is  a 
mixture  of  various  sorts  of  inspiration  in  the  book, 
and  thus  all  is  reduced  to  a  dim  and  shadowy 
question  of  degrees  which  is  wholly  unresolvable. 
It  may  continue  to  be  called  the  Bible.  But  from 
the  moment  we  are  made  to  believe  that  it  is  not 
ail  over  the  word  of  God,  its  character  as  a  clear 
and  unequivocal  directory  from  our  Master  and 
Lawgiver  in  heaven  is  henceforth  nullified.  The 
second  advantage  then  of  testimonies  in  the  par¬ 
ticular  form  which  we  have  been  considering  is, 
that  they  lead  us  to  respect  the  whole  Bible 
equally,  or  at  least  to  rely  on  the  whole  equally. 

10.  To  reassemble  these  observations  into  one, 
or  at  most  two  steps  of  an  argument.  We  have, 
in  the  first  place,  a  collection  of  writings  repeatedly 
adverted  to  in  scripture  ;  and  having  one  or  more 
titles  which  served  to  mark  them,  just  as  distinc¬ 
tively,  as  the  book  of  our  own  faith  is  at  present 
separated  from  all  other  authorship,  by  its  well- 
known  denomination  either  of  the  scriptures  or  the 
Bible.  At  one  time  the  appellation  is  given  to 
them  of  7]  ygcc(p7i  or  a/  ygutyai ;  at  another  ra 
Xoyicc  70v  0s ov,  as  in  the  verse  where  it  is  said  that 
“unto  the  Jews  were  committed  the  oracles  of 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS. 


God at  a  third  time,  tgc,  lego,  ygocfjjfjijccToc,  as  when 
Timothy  is  said  to  have  known  from  a  child  the 
holy  scriptures,  which  were  able  to  make  him  wise 
unto  salvation.  Under  one  or  other  of  these  titles, 
it  is  one  of  the  surest  points  of  ecclesiastical  history, 
that  all  the  books  of  our  present  Old  Testament 
were  comprehended,  and  these  exclusively,  when 
spoken  of  as  they  repeatedly  are  by  our  Saviour 
and  His  Apostles  :  And  these  are  the  very  titles,  * 
which,  beginning  with  the  Apostles  and  descend¬ 
ing  from  them  with  an  evidence  as  copious  and 
sure  as  that  by  which  the  miracles  and  all  the  his¬ 
torical  foundations  of  our  faith  are  substantiated, 
have,  by  the  general  consent  of  Christians,  been 
extended  to  the  pieces  which  make  up  our  present 
New  Testament— so  that  whatever  is  predicated  in 
the  Bible  of  the  subjects  which  are  thus  designated, 
may  be  regarded  as  the  testimony  of  revelation  to 
the  perfections  and  properties  of  this  volume,  or 
to  the  degree  of  authority  which  belongs  to  it. 

11.  Now,  confining  ourselves  to  a  fewr  of  those 
passages  in  the  New  Testament,  where  the  scrip¬ 
tures  are  referred  to  under  one  or  other  of  the 
denominations  that  have  been  now  specified. 
“Jesus  said  unto  them,  Ye  err,  not  knowing  the 
scriptures.”  “  Search  the  scriptures.”  “  Scrip¬ 
ture”  (this  we  think  the  most  distinct  and  unequi¬ 
vocal  of  all  possible  testimonies,)  “  the  scripture 
cannot  be  broken.”  This  cannot  be  exceeded  5 
but  it  is  equalled  by  the  following  testimony. 
«  The  scriptures  must  be  fulfilled.”  The  necessity 
thus  alleged  is,  in  another  place,  made  the  reason 
why  our  Saviour  wrould  submit  to  any  endurance, 
vol.  iv.  Q 


362 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


rather  tnan  that  one  jot  or  one  tittle  of  the 
scriptures  should  fail— “  But  how  then  shall  the 
scriptures  be  fulfilled  that  thus  it  must  be.” 

<s  Whatsoever  things  were  written  aforetime  weic 
written  for  our  learning,  that  we  through  patience 
and  comfort  of  the  scriptures  might  have  hope”— 
not  some  things  in  scripture,  but  whatsoever 
things  were  written  there,  were  written  tor  our 
learning.  Now  some  of  these  testimonies  apply 
expressly  to  each  and  every  part  of  scripture- 
bearing  at  all  times  in  mind,  that  this  scripture  is 
inclusive,  by  the  testimony  of  Christ  and  ^  His 
Apostles,  of  all  that  we  now  have  in  the  Old  Tes¬ 
tament,  and  exclusive  of  every  Jewish  writing 
beside ;  inclusive  also,  on  the  very  evidence  which 
accredits  Christianity  at  all,  of  every  book  that 
enters  into  our  present  New  Testament,  and  ex¬ 
clusive  of  every  Christian  writing  beside.  Of  this 
scripture,  in  its  totality,  it  is  said  that  it  cannot  be 
broken — which  it  could,  if  any  part  of  it,  howe\ei 
small,  might,  as  being  but  of  human  character  and 
authority,  be  detached  from  the  rest  as  being  of 
divine  authority :  And  it  is  also  said  that  whatso¬ 
ever  things  were  written  there,  were  written  for  our 

learning _ making  no  distinction  whatever  between 

the  degree  of  faith  and  docility  due  to  certain  of 
these  things,  over  certain  others  of  them.  And 
then  when  further  told  to  search  the  scriptures, 
and  that  scripture  must  be  fulfilled — this  injunc¬ 
tion  and  this  information,  distinct  and  definite  as 
they  are,  when  understood  of  a  well-known  book 
so  denominated  and  of  *all  within  the  peiimeter 
thereof,  become  altogether  vague,  useless,  bewilder- 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TEST  A. Vi  ENTS.  363 

ing,  and  in  fact  convey  no  injunction  that  we  can 
act  upon,  and  no  information  that  we  can  specify—* 
if,  on  the  principle  of  partial  inspiration,  the  duty 
of  searching,  the  certainty  of  fulfilment,  apply  only 
to  certain  parts  of  this  scripture  we  are  told  not 
what,  to  certain  places  and  passages  thereof  we  are 
told  not  where.  At  this  rate,  each  is  left  to  guess 
or  to  find  a  scripture  for  himself ;  and,  with  all  the 
properties  and  excellences  ascribed  to  this  book,  we 
positively  do  not  know  at  this  rate  what  the  portions 
are  which  this  description  is  meant  to  light  upon. 

12.  But  more  than  this.  There  are  certain 
other  designations,  which,  though  not  always  ap¬ 
propriated  to  scripture,  yet  have  at  times  the  ut¬ 
most  likelihood  of  being  expressly  and  specifically 
so  applied — or,  if  otherwise,  leave  the  passages  in 
which  they  occur  without  meaning,  or  at  least 
strip  them  of  all  their  usefulness.  Every  property, 
for  example,  ascribed  to  the  word  of  the  Lord,  if 
not  to  be  understood  of  scripture  and  of  all  scrip¬ 
ture,  is  to  us  at  least  of  no  utility  and  of  no  prac¬ 
tical  significance  whatever.  Had  God  never  pub¬ 
lished  a  Word  to  the  world  in  which  we  live,  it 
would  have  been  of  no  importance  to  let  us  know 
that  the  “word  of  the  Lord  is  pure and  it  would 
just  be  of  as  little  importance,  if,  though  He  may 
have  published  such  a  word,  we  are  left  in  uncer¬ 
tainty  as  to  what  it  is.  But  apply  this  saying  to 
the  scriptures,  and  we  instantly  restore  effect  and 
importance  to  it ;  and  believing,  as  we  do,  that  it 
is  really  expressive  of  scripture,  our  interpretation 
of  this  testimony  is,  that  in  the  ygccpT],  the  /Sfa 
ygoLib^jCiTCiy  the  to,  Xoyioc  tov  0sov,  the  Bible  in 


364 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


short,  there  exists  but  one  ingredient  of  pure  un- 
mixed  divinity,  utterly  separated  and  free  from  the 
contamination  of  all  that  is  human.  Again,  “the 
word  of  God  is  a*  light  unto  our  feet  and  a  lamp 
unto  our  paths  ” — a  most  momentous  piece  of  in¬ 
formation  truly,  if  we  are  only  made  to  know  what 
the  word  of  God  is ;  and  nothing  can  be  more  dis¬ 
tinct  or  satisfactory  in  the  way  of  guidance,  than 
simply  to  be  told  that  the  word  of  God  is  the 
scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament.  But 
should  the  affirmation  be  made,  that  this  applies 
only  to  part  of  these  scriptures,  and  we  are  left 
without  any  test  by  which  to  fix  and  identify  that 
part — then  the  light  wanes  back  again  into  dark¬ 
ness  ;  and  an  extinguisher  is  put  upon  the  Bible. 
‘‘Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  my  words 
shall  not  pass  away” — a  most  emphatic  affirma¬ 
tion  of  the  authority  that  lies  in  these  words,  did 
we  but  know  what  the  words  are.  The  doctrine 
of  a  universal  inspiration  leaves  no  doubt  upon  the 
subject — under  the  doctrine  of  a  partial  inspiration, 
wre  are  left  to  grope  our  uncertain  way  to  them. 
These  and  hundreds  of  other  testimonies  respect¬ 
ing  the  word  of  God  convey  to  us  an  explicit,  a 
special  and  a  most  important  deliverance — only 
provided,  however,  that  this  word  is  a  recognizable 
something  which  one  can  point  to,  and  hold  forth 
to  the  distinct  observation  of  men.  Grant  us 
inspiration,  we  mean  the  inspiration  of  the  whole 
Bible,  and  this  we  can-  point  to :  But  tell  us  that 
there  is  but  the  inspiration  of  a  part,  leaving  it 
to  the  fancy  or  inclination  of  each  man  how  much 
or  howr  little  this  part  shall  be — and  then  all  these 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS.  365 

testimonies  to  the  unchangeableness  and  the  purity 
and  the  rightful  authority  of  God’s  word  become 
a  thing  of  nought.  They  but  present  us  with  the 
predicates  of  propositions — leaving  us  to  wander  in 
quest  of  the  subject  to  which  they  belong.  They 
are  but  half  sentences,  void  and  meaningless,  and 
just  for  the  want  of  some  specific  thing  to  which 
we  can  attach  them. 

13.  The  terms  “inspiration”  and  “revelation” 
have  been  confounded ;  but  in  meaning  they  are 
really  distinct  from  each  other.  A  man  might  be 
inspired  for  the  purpose  of  writing  a  history  with 
selection^and  undeviating  accuracy — yet  with  all 
the  facts  with  which  he  was  previously  acquainted ; 
and  this  would  be  inspiration  without  revelation. 
Or  a  man  might  be  informed  by  a  celestial  visitant, 
of  matters  known  only  to  celestials,  as  one  of  the 
Apostles  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  may  afterwards,  in 
the  natural  exercise  of  memory  and  composition, 
commit  the  doctrines  to  writing;  and  this  would 
be  revelation  without  inspiration.  The  one  does 
not  necessarily  imply  the  other.  When  a  super¬ 
human,  but  yet  visible  being,  as  our  Saviour  in  the 
flesh,  tells  his  disciples  what  before  were  unknown 
things  of  God  and  heaven,  this  is  revelation.  I 
would  even  call  it  revelation,  when  an  invisible 
being,  as  the  Holy  Spirit,  infuses  the  knowledge 
of  these  things  into  the  minds  of  men.  But  when 
under  His  guidance,  and  by  His  suggestion,  they 
are  prompted  to  speak  and  write  of  them  to  others, 
this  is  inspiration.  It  would  accord  with  the  taste 
and  theory  of  some,  did  we  admit  a  revelation 
without  an  inspiration.  We  might  imagine  the 


366  ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 

whole  scheme  and  articles  of  a  system  of  doctrine 
made  known  by  some  preternatural  agent  to  a 
commissioned  teacher;  and  that  after  this,  all 
preternatural  application  was  withdrawn  from  him 
— so  that  for  a  right  conveyance  to  the  world  of 
what  he  had  been  thus  told  or  taught,  he  is  left  to 
the  retentive  powers  of  his  own  memory,  and  to 
his  own  faculty  of  just  and  appropriate  expression. 
With  the  advocates  for  a  higher  degree  of  inspira¬ 
tion,  there  is  the  demand  for  much  higher  securities 
than  this  against  fallacy  and  error.  They  require 
a  preternatural  influence,  not  at  the  first  deposition 
alone  of  the  subject-matter  of  revelatio!  in  the 
mind  of  its  intermediate  messengers,  but  along  the 
whole  line  as  it  were  of  the  communication  be¬ 
tween  God  and  the  world — that  the  matter  thus 
deposited  might  be  kept  entire  in  a  mind  exempt 
from  all  the  infirmities  of  human  recollection  ;  and 
that  when  discharged  upon  others,  instead  of  being 
so  in  the  words  which  man’s  wdsdom  teacheth,  it 
might  be  couched  in  the  very  words  suggested 
by  the  wisdom  of  God. 

14.  It  will  be  perceived  by  this  simple  state¬ 
ment,  what  room  there  is  for  manifold  diversities 
of  sentiment  and  understanding  upon  the  subject 
— some  as  Dr.  Benson  conceiving  only  a  first 
revelation,  and  then  the  whole  intermediate  process 
of  continued  memory  and  ultimate  expression,  left 
to  the  operation  of  the  natural  faculties  alone— 
others  a  bringing  of  all  things  afresh  into  the 
remembrance,  whenever  an  occasion  took  place 
for  the  disclosure  of  them — others  additionally  to 
this  an  over-ruling  determination,  not  of  the 


THE  OLD  ANQ  NEW  TESTAMENTS. 


367 


thoughts  alone  but  of  the  words  employed  to  con¬ 
vey  them,  a  verbal  inspiration  as  well  as  an  inspi¬ 
ration  of  ideas — others  a  total  inspiration  in  the 
doctrinal  of  scripture,  along  with  a  laxer  inspira¬ 
tion  or  none  at  all  in  the  historical  of  scripture — 
others  who  make  a  distinction  between  the  inspira¬ 
tion  of  suggestion  and  the  inspiration  of  superin¬ 
tendence,  conceiving  the  former,  to  be  unnecessary, 
when  the  ordinary  powers  of  memory  and  language 
are  sufficient,  either  to  retain  all  that  is  certainly 
known,  or  to  convey  <£1  that  is  clearly  apprehend¬ 
ed  ;  and  the  latter,  again,  to  be  desirable  and  safe, 
as  a  guarantee  against  the  errors  into  which  un¬ 
aided  humanity  might  else  have  fallen. 

15.  There  are  some  of  these  theories,  which 
appear  to  involve  an  unavailing  and  unprofitable 
scrutiny  into  the  mode  of  inspiration.  ,  The  im¬ 
portant  inquiry  is  the  effect  of  it,  as  realized  on  the 
Bible — the  product  of  this  inspiration,  of  whatever 
sort  or  description  the  inspiration  itself  may  be. 
And  the  two  most  interesting  questions  connected 
with  this  object,  seem  to  be,  does  the  inspiration 
extend  to  the  language  of  the  Bible  as  well  as  to 
its  doctrine  and  sentiment ;  and  does  it  extend  to 
the  whole  Bible  or  only  to  parts  of  it  ? 

16.  In  regard  to  the  first  question  we  are 
greatly  helped  to  the  solution  of  it,  by  the  tes¬ 
timonies  of  the  second  form.  There  is  a  certain 
special  designation  that  occurs  both  in  scripture, 
and  in  the  writings  of  the  Christian  fathers ;  and 
which  serves  specifically  to  mark  the  very  collec¬ 
tion  of  writings  that  we  know  by  evidence,  as 
strong  as  can  be  adduced  in  favour  of  any  historical 


358 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


point  in  Christianity,  are  comprised  in  our  present 
scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament.  A 
something  designed  by  the  term  ai  ygutpai  is  the 
subject  of  many  a  predicate  in  the  Bible  ;  and  we, 
knowing  precisely  what  the  subject  is,  are  at  no 
loss  to  understand  to  what  specific  things  these 
predicates  are  applicable.  It  is  of  great  argu¬ 
mentative  importance  in  this  discussion,  that  these 
ygcc<pcci  should  be  identified  with  our  present  scrip¬ 
tures  ;  for  we  are  thereby  given  to  understand 
that  it  is  our  duty  to  search  these  scriptures,  that 
we  err  by  not  knowing  them,  that  they  cannot  be 
broken,  that  they  must  be  fulfilled,  and  that  all  of 
them  are  inspired.  These  all  go  to  confirm  our 
trust  in  the  very  books  of  our  present  recognised 
canon ;  but  on  the  special  question  whether  the 
various  properties  of  excellence  thus  attached  to 
the  Bible,  are  attached  only  to  the  ideas,  or  extend 
also  to  the  language  of  the  Bible,  we  would  remark 
that  they  one  and  all  of  them  are  ascribed,  not  to 
the  ideas  as  existing  in  thought  and  conception  in 
the  minds  of  the  inspired  men,  but  to  the  ideas  as 
brought  forth  in  writing  and  substantiated  in  the 
products  of  their  inspiration.  They  are  the 
ygGttpcci,  they  are  the  ygccf/jfJboiTU,  they  are  the 
Aoyta  which  have  all  these  virtues  and  excellencies 
ascribed  to  them.  It  is  not  of  the  doctrine  as 
mentally  apprehended  by  the  sacred  penmen,  but 
it  is  of  the  doctrine  as  manually  written  by  them, 
that  the  Bible  tells  us  to  search  the  scripture  rag 
ygaficcg,  that  the  scripture  r\  ypcc^tj  cannot  be 
broken,  that  all  scripture  Tctva,  ypccC^yj  is  inspired, 
that  the  holy  scriptures  ispcc  ypa^otroc  are  able  to 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS.  369 

make  us  wise  unto  salvation.  It  is  not  we  should 
observe  for  the  voqpara  or  the  thoughts  as  depo¬ 
sited  in  the  minds  of  the  prophets  and  apostles, 
that  our  confidence  is  demanded:  It  is  for  the 
y gap  para  or  these  thoughts  as  bodied  forth  in  the 
writings  of  prophets  and  apostles.  It  is  not  to  the 
doctrine  as  existing  within  the  inspired  men  in  the 
form  of  ideas,  that  the  high  ascriptions  of  infalli¬ 
ble  and  heavenly  truth  are  given,  for  at  this  ante¬ 
rior  stage  it  had  not  yet  efloresced  into  ygacpai  or 
ygappara  or  \oyta ;  and  these  very  terms  afford 
demonstration  in  themselves,  that  it  is  not  to  the 
ideal  scheme,  but  to  the  written  exposition  of  it, 
that  we  are  required  to  yield  our  trust  and  the 
obedience  of  our  faith.  It  is  not  for  the  doctrine 
as  thought,  but  for  the  doctrine  as  written — not 
for  the  doctrine  as  residing  in  the  silent  depository 
of  an  apostle’s  thoughts,  but  for  the  doctrine  as 
couched  in  phraseology  and  imbodied  in  an 
apostle’s  wrords — it  is  for  this  latter,  that,  in  all  the 
quotations  we  have  offered,  the  implicit  submission 
of  men  is  so  peremptorily  challenged.  It  is  not 
with  the  doctrine  as  existing  in  the  mind  of  the 
seer  or  scribe,  but  it  is  with  the  doctrine  as 
existing  in  the  scripture  that  has  been  written  by 
him — it  is  with  that  we  have  to  do.  And  it  is 
uniformly  to  this  scripture  that  we  find  ascribed 
the  high  prerogative  of  authority  over  us,  of  un¬ 
erring  guidance  both  for  the  direction  of  our  faith 
and  our  instruction  in  righteousness.  It  is  not 
with  the  truth  merely  excogitated,  but  with  the 
truth  expressed,  that  we  have  any  concern ;  not 
with  the  truth  as  seen  by  our  inspired  teacher, 

Q  2 


370 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


but  with  the  truth  as  by  him  spoken  to  us.  It  is 
not  enough  that  the  Spirit  hath  made  him  to  see  it 
aright — this  is  not  enough,  if  He  have  not  also 
made  him  to  speak  it  aright.  .  A  pure  influx  into 
the  mind  of  an  apostle  is  no  sufficient  guarantee 
for  the  instruction  of  the  world,  unless  there  be  a 
pure  efflux  also ;  for  not  the  doctrine  that  has 
flowed  in,  but  the  doctrine  that  has  flowed  out,  is 
truly  all  that  we  have  to  do  with.  Accordingly, 
it  is  to  the  doctrine  in  efflux,  that  is  to  the  word , 
that  we  are  bidden  yield  ourselves.  It  is  the 
word  that  is  a  light  unto  our  feet,  and  a  lamp  unto 
our  paths :  It  is  His  word  that  God  hath  exalted 
above  all  his  name :  It  is  the  word  that  He  hath 
settled  fast  in  heaven,  and*given  to  it  a  stability 
surer  and  more  lasting  than  to  the  ordinances  of 
nature.  We  can  take  no  cognizance  of  the  doc¬ 
trine  that  is  conveyed  from  heaven  to  earth,  when 
it  has  only  come  the  length  of  excogitation  in  the 
mind  of  an  apostle  ;  and  it  is  not  till  brought  the 
further  length  of  expression,  either  by  speech  or 
by  writing,  that  it  comes  into  contact  with  us.  In 
short  our  immediate  concern  is  with,  not  what 
apostles  conceive  inwardly,  but  what  they  bring 
forth  outwardly — not  with  the  schemes  or  the 
systems  which  they  have  been  made  to  apprehend, 
but  with  the  books  which  they  have  written ;  and 
had  the  whole  force  and  effect  of  this  observation 
been  sufficiently  pondered,  we  feel  persuaded  that 
the  advocates  of  a  mitigated  inspiration  would  not 
have  dissevered,  as  they  have  done,  the  inspira¬ 
tion  of  sentiment  from  the  inspiration  of  language. 

17.  For  trace  the  whole  subject-matter  of  the 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS.  371 

Bible  downward,  from  the  place  it  once  occupied 
in  the  pure  and  primeval  fountain-head  of  truth 
in  heaven — to  the  place  it  now  occupies  in  the 
hook  that  is  presented  to  human  eyes,  and  is 
made  to  circulate  as  the  word  of  life  among  the 
habitations  of  earth.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  in  the  place  of  its  original  residence,  it  existed 
in  the  purest  and  most  perfect  form ;  but  had  it 
abidden  there,  instead  of  descending  upon  our 
world,  to  men  at  least  it  could  have  been  of  no 
use — to  us  it  would  have  been  of  as  little  con¬ 
sequence  as  the  merest  nonentity.  But  the  Son 
of  God  came  forth  with  it  from  the  dwelling-place 
of  the  Eternal,  and  brought  it  to  the  earth  where 
He  sojourned,  without,  we  may  stand  well  assured, 
without  an  error  and  without  a  flaw ;  but  had  He 
carried  it  back  with  Him  to  heaven,  and  with¬ 
drawn  it  from  the  view  of  mortals  when  He  with¬ 
drew  Himself  from  their  view — we  should  have 
been  still  unblest  by  its  light  or  its  influence  :  But, . 
instead  of  this,  He  did  leave  behind  Him  with  chosen 
disciples  the  memory  of  its  doctrines  and  informa¬ 
tions  ;  and,  what  is  more,  He  sent  a  heavenly 
messenger  from  on  high  who  still,  we  may  be  sure, 
deposited  the  precious  treasure  without  one  taint 
or  particle  of  corruption  in  the  breast  of  the 
apostles  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  All  then  is 
pure  and  faultless  hitherto.  To  this  point  the 
subject-matter  of  the  Bible  has  been  carried,  with¬ 
out  one  shade  of  infirmity  or  desecration.  But  it 
has  one  stage  more  to  travel,  ere  it  comes  to  the 
end  of  its  journey.  It  has  to  pass  through  the 
mind  of  these  selected  prophets  and  apostles,  and 


372 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


to  issue  thence  in  language  ere  it  comes  forth  in 
the  shape  of  scripture  upon  the  world.  Now  it 
is  here  that  we  meet  the  advocates  of  a  partial  or 
mitigated  inspiration,  and  would  make  common 
cause  against  one  and  all  of  them.  There  is  not 
one  theory  short  by  however  so  little  of  a  thorough 
and  perfect  inspiration,  there  is  not  one  of  them 
but  is  chargeable  with  the  consequence,  that  the 
subject-matter  of  revelation  suffers  and  is  de¬ 
teriorated  in  the  closing  footsteps  of  its  progress ; 
and  just  before  it  settles  into  that  ultimate  posi¬ 
tion,  where  it  stands  forth  to  guide  and  illuminate 
the  world.  It  existed  purely  in  heaven.  It  de¬ 
scended  purely  from  heaven  to  earth.  It  was  de¬ 
posited  purely  by  the  great  agent  of  revelation  in 
the  minds  of  the  apostles.  But  then  we  are  told, 
that,  when  but  a  little  way  from  the  final  landing- 
place,  then,  instead  of  being  carried  forward 
purely  to  the  situation  where  alone  the  great  pur- 
'  pose  of  the  whole  movement  was  to  be  fulfilled, 
then  was  it  abandoned  to  itself,  and  then  were 
human  infirmities  permitted  to  mingle  with  it,  and 
to  mar  its  lustre.  Strange,  that,  just  when  enter¬ 
ing  on  the  functions  of  an  authoritative  guide  and 
leader  to  mankind,  that  then,  and  not  till  then, 
the  soil  and  the  feebleness  of  humanity  should  be 
suffered  to  gather  around  it.  Strange,  that,  with 
the  inspiration  of  thoughts,  it  should  make  pure 
ingress  into  the  minds  of  the  apostles  ;  but,  want¬ 
ing  the  inspiration  of  words,  should  not  make  pure 
egress  to  that  world,  in  whose  behalf  alone  and  for 
whose  admonition  alone,  this  great  movement 
originated  in  heaven  and  terminated  in  earth. 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS.  373 

Strange,  more  especially  strange,  in  the  face  of 
the  declaration  that  not  unto  themselves  but  unto 
us  they  ministered  these  things,  strange,  never¬ 
theless,  that  this  revelation  should  come  in  purely 
to  themselves,  but  to  us  should  come  forth  im¬ 
purely — with  somewhat,  it  would  appear,  with 
somewhat  the  taint  and  the  obscuration  of  human 
frailty  attached  to  it.  If  that  word  of  God  have 
not  been  carried  through  all  obstructions  im¬ 
maculately  on  to  the  Bible — if,  as  existing  there, 
its  high  and  holy  characteristics  be  at  all  over¬ 
cast,  or  the  tarnish  of  slightest  corruption  adhere 
to  it ;  then,  to  man,  it  is  practically  the  same  as  if 
corruptly  deposited  in  the  mind  of  the  apostles,  as 
if  corruptly  transformed  by  the  spirit  or  the  Savi¬ 
our  on  its  way  from  heaven,  as  if  corrupted  in 
heaven  itself,  or  as  if  evil  had  found  its  way  into 
the  upper  sanctuary,  and  the  light  that  issues 
from  the  throne  of  the  Eternal  had  been  shorn  of 
its  radiance.  It  matters  not  at  what  point  in  the 
progress  of  this  celestial  truth  to  our  world,  the 
obscuration  has  been  cast  upon  it.  It  comes  to 
us  a  dim  and  desecrated  thing  at  the  last;  and 
man,  instead  of  holding  converse  with  God’s  un¬ 
spotted  testimony,  has  an  imperfect,  a  mutilated 
Bible  put  into  his  hands. 

18.  There  are  many  who  would  shudder  at 
the  thought,  of  there  not  having  been  a  pure 
influx  into  the  mind  of  the  apostles ;  but  deny,  by 
their  theories  of  inspiration,  that  there  has  been  a 
pure  efflux  thence  upon  the  world,  Now  in  which 
of  the  states,  we  ask,  is  it,  that  the  revelation  of 
God  to  man  is  spoken  of  in  the  Bible?  Not,  we 


374  ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 

reply,  in  that  state  of  the  revelation,  when  it  was 
making  influx  into  the  prophetic  or  apostolic 
mind — but  in  that  state  of  it,  after  it  had  made 
efflux  thence ;  after,  in  fact,  it  had  been  imbodied 
in  scripture,  and  then  spoken  of  as  a;  ygutpai ;  or 
been  shaped  into  a  word,  in  which  shape  it  is, 
that  through  the  whole  volume  of  inspiration, 
every  pure  and  perfect  characteristic  is  assigned  to 
it.  In  other  words,  it  is  not  before  the  efflux,  but 
after  it  had  passed  this  ordeal,  that  we  are  told  it 
cannot  be  broken — that  it  is  all  given  by  inspira¬ 
tion  of  God — that  no  man  must  take  away  from  it, 
and  no  man  must  add  thereunto.  These  and  many 
similar  things  are  spoken,  not  of  the  truth  as  it 
exists  ideally  in  the  mind  of  God,  but  of  the  truth 
as  uttered  verbally  by  the  mouth  of  His  prophets 
— or,  rather,  of  their  collective  word,  as  expressing 
and  imbodying  the  truth.  These  high  ascriptions 
are  given,  not  to  the  act  of  inspiration,  but  to  the 
product  of  inspiration  ;  and  we  are  taught,  by  the 
uniform  testimony  of  scripture,  to  believe  of  that 
product,  that  it  is  divine  and  immaculate  and 
perfect.  These  things  are  spoken,  not  of  a  word, 
uttered  perhaps  in  heaven,  and  which  never  reached 
our  homes  upon  earth ;  but  of  the  word  that  is 
nigh  unto  us,  of  the  word  as  it  came  forth  in 
utterance  from  the  mouths  of  prophets  and 
apostles,  or  as  written  by  their  hands.  It  is  of  the 
word  thus  brought  forth  in  the  Bible,  and  which 
men  by  their  wretched  hypotheses  would  make  a 
polluted  and  precarious  thing — it  is  this  which  is  as 
silver  seven  times  tried,  and  which  has  the  impress 
of  the  wisdom  and  will  of  God  upon  all  its  sayings. 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS. 


375 


19.  Such  being  our  views,  it  is  the  unavoidable 
consequence  of  them,  that  we  should  hold  the 
Bible,  for  all  the  purposes  of  a  revelation,  to  be 
perfect  in  its  language  as  well  as  perfect  in  its 
doctrine.  And  for  this  conclusion,  it  is  not  neces¬ 
sary  that  we  should  arbitrate  between  the  theories 
of  superintendence  and  suggestion.  The  super¬ 
intendence  that  would  barely  intercept  the  progress 
of  error,  we  altogether  discard — conceiving,  that, 
if  this  term  be  applicable  to  the  process  of  in¬ 
spiration  at  all,  it  must  be  that  efficient  supeiin- 
tendence  which  not  only  secures  that,  negatively, 
there  shall  be  nothing  wrong — but  which  also  se¬ 
cures  that,  affirmatively,  there  should  at  all  times 
have  emanated  from  the  sacred  penmen,  the  fittest 
topics,  and  these  couched  in  the  fittest  and  most 
appropriate  expression.  Whether  this  has  been 
effected  partly  by  superintendence  and  partly  by 
suggestion,  or  wholly  by  suggestion,  we  care  not. 
We  have  no  inclination  and  no  taste  for  these  dis¬ 
tinctions.  Our  cause  is  independent  of  them— 
nor  can  we  fully  participate  in  the  fears  of  those 
alarmists  who  think  that  our  cause  is  materially 
injured  by  them.  The  important  question  with  us  is 
not  the  process  of  the  manufacture,  but  the  quali¬ 
ties  of  the  resulting  commodity.  The  former  we 
hold  not  to  be  a  relevant,  and  we  are  not  sure 
that  it  is  a  legitimate  inquiry.  It  is  on  the  latter 
we  take  our  stand ;  and  the  superabundant  testi¬ 
monies  of  scripture  on  the  worth  and  the  perfection 
and  the  absolute  authority  of  the  word— these 
form  the  strong-holds  of  an  argument  that  goes  to 
establish  all  which  the  most  rigid  advocates  for  a 


376  ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 

total  and  infallible  inspiration  ought  to  desire.  Our 
concern  is  with  the  work,  and  not  with  the  work¬ 
manship  ;  nor  need  we  intrude  into  the  mysteries 
of  the  hidden  operation,  if  only  assured  by  the 
explicit  testimonies  of  scripture,  that  the  product 
of  that  operation,  is,  both  in  substance  and  expres¬ 
sion  a  perfect  directory  of  faith  and  practice.  We 
believe  .that,  in  the  composition  of  that  record, 
men  not  only  thought  as  they  were  inspired,  but 
spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
But  our  argument  for  the  absolute  perfection  of 
Holy  writ  is  invulnerably  beyond  the  reach  even 
of  those  who  have  attempted  to  trace  with  geogra¬ 
phical  precision  the  line  which  separates  the 
miraculous  from  the  natural ;  and  tell  us  when  it 
was  that  apostles  wrote  the  word  which  the  Spirit 
prompted  them,  and  when  it  was  that  they  wrote 
the  words  which  the  Spirit  permitted  them.  To 
the  result,  in  our  humble  apprehension,  it  positively 
matters  not.  Hid  they  speak  the  words  that  the 
Spirit  prompted,  these  words  were  therefore  the 
best.  Hid  they  speak  the  words  which  the  Spirit 
permitted,  it  was  because  these  words  were  the 
best.  The  optimism  of  the  Bible  is  alike  secured 
in  both  these  ways  ;  and  the  sanction  of  the  Spirit 
extended,  both  in  respect  of  sentiments  and  of 
sayings,  to  every  clause  of  it.  In  either  way, 
they  effectively  are  the  wrords  of  the  Spirit ;  and 
God  through  the  Bible  is  not  presenting  truths 
through  the  medium  of  others’  language ;  He  in 
effect  has  made  it  his  own  language,  and  God 
through  the  Bible  is  speaking  to  us. 

20.  We  are  aware  that  by  this  language  of 


v 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS.  377 

concession,  we  might  offend  the  alarmists  on  the 
side  of  plenary  inspiration;  but,  really  and  in 
effect,  there  is  no  difference  betwixt  us.  We  are 
perfectly  agreed  as  to  the  absolute  and  divine  per¬ 
fection  of  the  word — the  optimism  of  the  Bible. 
We  are  at  one  as  to  the  qualities  of  the  opus 
operatum  ;  and,  if  we  differ  at  all,  it  regards  only 
the  modus  operandi — and  it  is  just  because  of  our 
aversion  to  intrude  into  things  unseen,  that  we 
express  ourselves  so  guardedly  on  the  subject. 
The  Bible  is  divinely  perfect ;  yet  in  one  sense 
may  be  regarded  as  the  compound  result  of  the 
natural  and  the  super-natural — not  so  natural  as 
to  have  one  tinge  of  nature’s  infirmity  adhering  to 
it — not  so  super-natural  as  wholly  to  suspend  and 
overbear  the  laws  of  man’s  mental  constitution. 
It  is  thus  that  each  prophet  and  historian  and 
apostle  of  scripture,  preserves  his  own  character¬ 
istic  and  complexional  variety  of  style  and  manner 
— as  much  so  perhaps  as  if,  instead  of  writing  as 
inspired,  they  had  been  left  to  write  as  uninspired 
men.  It  were  difficult,  in  these  circumstances,  to 
define,  how  far  the  miraculous  encroached  on  the 
ordinary  processes  of  thought  and  expression. 
But  quite  enough  surely  for  us,  if  we  know  it  to 
have  encroached  so  far,  that  the  Bible,  the 
resulting  Bible,  is  so  good  that  it  could  not  be 
made  better.  We  agree  with  Mr.  Carson  and 
others  that  the  Bible  is  wholly  the  product  of 
divine  authorship — God  being  the  author  of  the 
ordinary  as  well  as  the  miraculous ;  and  it  being 
wholly  of  His  judgment  and  sovereign  determina¬ 
tion,  to  what  extent  the  miraculous  should  over- 


378  ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 

rule  the  natural,  in  order  to  the  effect  of  furnishing 
the  world  with  a  perfect  and  infallible  word.  We 
do  not  detract,  in  the  least,  from  the  mastery  of 
God’s  wisdom  and  God’s  wrill,  in  the  composition 
of  the  Bible,  though  we  allow  that  He  was  pleased 
to  avail  Himself  of  second  causes.  In  as  far  as 
second  causes  were  concerned  in  the  production  of 
the  Bible,  we  would  not  say  that  God  left  the 
Bible  in  any  degree  to  the  operation  of  these 
causes;  but,  believing  as  we  do  in  His  incessant 
agency,  we  would  say  that  He  Himself  operated 
by  these  causes — insomuch  that  every  word, 
whether  suggested  to  the  mind  of  the  writer 
miraculously  or  not,  was  feoTrvevgog ;  every  word 
was  breathed  into  him  by  God.  And  yet  we  do 
not  feel  alarmed  by  the  expression,  that  the  writers 
were  left  to  their  own  varieties  of  style  and 
expression  * — as  if  it  followed  on  that  account,  that 
the  Bible  was  abandoned  to  the  chance  of  deteri¬ 
oration  thereby.  If  the  word  was  suggested  to 
the  writer,  it  must  have  been  the  best  word — or  if 
the  writer  used  the  very  word  he  would  have  done 
though  uninspired,  or  otherwise,  was  left  to  his 
own  word,  it  must  have  been  because  it  was  the 
best.  Between  the  one  and  the  other,  we  have 
still  the  best  possible  Bible.  This  information  we 
distinctly  and  definitely  have  in  scripture ;  and 
this  ought  to  satisfy  us — although  obliged  by  our 
ignorance,  to  speak  uncertainly  and  indefinitely  of 
the  operation  within  the  vail.  Enough  to  know 

*  The  miraculous  agency  of  God  did  not  overbear  the  natural 
tendency  of  the  human  authors  of  the  New  Testament  to  the  use 
of  Hebraisms ;  and  hence  their  Hellenistic  Greek. 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS. 


379 


that  the  mind  of  God,  and  that  too  conveyed  in 
the  best  possible  expression,  is  in  every  sentence 
of  the  Bible.  Enough  to  know  that,  in  virtue  of 
His  command  over  all  natural  and  all  supernatural 
agency,  the  Bible  was  all  made  by  God — though 
unable  to  assign  the  limit  between  the  two,  or 
unable  to  trace  the  footsteps  of  God  in  the  making 
of  it. 

21.  There  is  diversity  of  operations,  but  it  is 
God  who  worketh  all  in  all ;  and  so  much  is  He 
all  in  all  throughout  the  Bible,  that  not  only  is 
every  thought  as  He  would  have  it  because  His 
thought,  but  every  word  as  He  would  have  it 
because  His  word.  He  is  the  universal  agent; 
yet  the  whole  history  of  the  church  bears  testi¬ 
mony  to  His  liking,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  loi 
the  instrumentality  of  man.  He  did  not  send  an 
angel  to  convert  Cornelius ;  He  sent  two  angels, 
one  to  Cornelius  and  the  other  to  Peter,  to 
arrange  a  meeting  between  them — that  the  words 
of  salvation  might  be  heard  from  the  lips  of  a 
fellow-mortal.  Even  the  Bible,  of  itself  and 
without  the  enforcements  of  a  human  expounder, 
is  not  the  great  instrument  of  Christianization. 
It  is  the  Bible  in  the  hands,  whether  of  parents  or 
ministers,  set  forth  in  explanation  by  a  living 
instrument,  and  urged  on  the.  feelings  and  con¬ 
sciences  of  men  by  the  energy  of  a  living  voice. 
And  God  has  made  use,  we  know  not  how  far,  of 
this  law  of  human  sympathy  in  the  composition  of 
the  Bible.  In  this  view,  we  are  not  at  .all  startled 
bv  the  evident  copyings  of  the  prophets  from  each 
other,  or  the  copyings  of  the  evangelists  as  alleged 


380 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


by  those  who  speculate  on  the  origination  of  the 
Gospels,  or  by  the  quotations  as  if  memoriter  or 
from  the  popular  translation  of  the  Old  Testament 
into  the  New.  It  detracts  not  from  the  inspira¬ 
tion  of  the  Bible,  that  we  can  reason  on  the 
formation  and  transmission  of  it,  and  draw  evidence 
from  these— just  as  we  do  in  the  ordinary  questions 
of  criticism,  from  the  phenomena  of  human  com¬ 
positions.  Whatever  the  steps  were  by  which  each 
passage  or  each  sentence  and  word  has  been 
introduced  into  the  record,  they  are  there  by  the 
appointment  of  that  God,  who  at  the  same  time 
has  told  us  of  the  infallibility  of  that  record,  and 
that  though  heaven  and  earth  must  pass  away,  not' 
one  jot  or  one  tittle  of  it  shall  fail.  The  fact  of 
its  being  within  the  four  corners  of  the  Bible,  is  in 
itself  proof  of  its  being  part  and  parcel  of  God’s 
communication  to  the  world.  We  believe  in  the 
total  inspiration,  not  from  what  we  know  of  the 
process,  but  from  what  vre  have  been  told  of  the 
product.  Not  one  word  could  be  altered,  but  for 
the  worse ;  3,nd,  whether  by  instruments  or  with¬ 
out  them,  the  wdiole  authorship  both  in  substance 
and  expression  is  God’s. 

22.  The  next  question  which  wre  shall  discuss 
but  shortly,  is,  whether  this  inspiration  extends  to 
the  whole  Bible,  or  only  to  parts  of  it.  We  have 
already  expatiated  on  the  state  of  fearful  precari¬ 
ousness  in  w'hich  the  faith  of  Christians  would  be 
placed,  if,  instead  of  the  limit  between  the  inspired 
and  the  uninspired  being  just  the  whole  circum¬ 
ference  of  scripture,  that  limit  were  conceived  to 
meander  obscurely  within  the  surface  of  the  record* 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS. 


381 


and  we  were  left  without  one  steadfast  or  palpable 
criterion  by  which  to  discriminate  between  the 
things  of  God  and  the  things  of  man.  We  are 
aware  of  a  general  impression  on  this  subject,  that 
inspiration  was  less  needed  for  scripture  history 
than  for  scripture  doctrine.  This,  we  have  already 
stated,  proceeds  on  a  confusion  of  sentiment,  in 
virtue  of  not  distinguishing  between  the  office  of 
inspiration  as  an  importer  and  its  office  as  an 
exporter  of  truth.  In  discharge  of  the  former 
office,  inspiration  is  more  required  for  the  truths  of 
doctrine  than  for  the  facts  of  history — these  facts, 
in  many  instances,  being  first  made  known,  not  by 
revelation  at  all ;  but  by  common  observation,  and 
in  the  exercise  of  the  natural  faculties.  But  in 
the  latter  office,  even  that  of  an  exporter,  inspiration 
may  be  more  required  for  narrative  than  for  doc¬ 
trine  ;  and  that,  not  merely  because  the  manifold 
details  of  it  are  with  more  difficulty  remembered 
than  the  leading  articles  of  a  system  of  truth— 
not  merely  because  the  memory  requires  to  be 
aided  in  the  business  of  recalling  them ;  but  be¬ 
cause  the  judgment  more  requires  to  be  aided,  in 
the  business  of  selecting  them.  It  is  quite  a  mis¬ 
take  that  the  historical  parts,  either  of  the  Old  or 
the  New  Testament  (we  mean  the  writing  or  the 
giving  of  them  forth)  required  less  the  guidance  of 
inspiration,  than  the  doctrinal  or  even  the  propheti¬ 
cal.  Not  to  speak  of  the  errors  in  the  selection, 
we  ask  our  readers  to  think,  in  such  a  mass  and 
multitude  of  materials,  what  an  interminable  record 
it  would  have  been,  had  each  of  the  various  histo- 
lians  been  abandoned  to  the  impulses  of  his  own 


382 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


taste  and  his  own  fancy.  Where  would  have  been 
that  condensed  and  expressive  brevity  which  is  no¬ 
where  else  to  be  met  with  in  the  whole  compass  of 
literature  ?  How  else  could  the  record  of  such 
a  number  of  centuries  have  been  given  at  once  so 
briefly  and  yet  so  comprehensively  ?  What  would 
have  been'  our  security,  that,  in  such  an  infinite 
diversity  of  topics,  the  most  pertinent  would  have 
been  selected ;  and  those  which  are  best  adapted 
to  the  purposes  of  a  revelation  ?  That  there 
should  be  such  a  keeping  between  the  parts  of  this 
vast  and  varied  miscellany — that  altogether  it 
should  be  confined  within  dimensions  so  moderate, 
that,  instead  of  swelling  out  into  an  unmanageable 
size,  this  record  of  thousands  of  years  should, 
though  not  a  meagre  chronicle  of  events  but  a 
vivid  and  interesting  narrative  abounding  through¬ 
out  in  touches  of  graphic  delineation,  should,  never¬ 
theless,  have  all  been  comprised  within  the  limits 
of  a  pocket  volume — there  must  have  been  a 
management  here  beyond  the  wisdom  of  man,  and 
far  more  beyond  it  in  the  historical,  than  in  the 
didactic  parts  of  the  composition.  There  must 
have  been  one  presiding  intellect  that  foresaw  all, 
and  over-ruled  all — for  the  random  concurrence  of 
such  a  number  of  authors  could  never  have  termi¬ 
nated  in  such  a  unique  and  wondrous  combination 
— insomuch  that  it  holds  more  emphatically  true 
of  the  historical  than  of  the  doctrinal  in  the  Old 
Testament,  that  “whatever  things  were  written 
aforetime  were  written  for  our  admonition,  on 
whom  the  latter  ends  of  the  world  have  come.” 

23*  This  consideration  is  insisted  on  with  great 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS. 


383 


strength  and  judgment  by  Mr.  Haldane,  in  his 
pamphlet  on  Inspiration;  and  at  still  greater 
length,  in  a  way  too  we  think  exceedingly  striking, 
by  Joseph  Cottle  in  the  second  volume  of  a  mis¬ 
cellaneous  work  entitled,  “  Malvern  Hills  with 
Minor  Poems  and  Essays.”  The  following  are 
copious  extracts  from  one  of  those  essays,  being 
an  “  Argument  in  favour  of  Christianity  deduced 
from  the  size  of  the  Bible.”  The  whole  argument 
which  is  admirably  put  is  well  worthy  of  perusal. 
“  When  an  uninspired  man  undertakes  to  write  an 
important  history,  entering  often  into  detail,  of 
incident,  description,  and  delineation,  the  work 
necessarily  becomes  extended.  But,  when  mighty 
events  are  recorded;  the  rise  and  fall  of  states; 
the  lives  of  warriors  and  kings  ;  the  principles  that 
regulated  their  conduct ;  the  aggressions  of  neigh¬ 
bouring  potentates;  with  all  the  results  and 
changes  which  arose  from  conquest  or  subjugation; 
the  boldest  reader  is  appalled  at  the  probable 
accumulation  of  pages.  If  this  writer  has  to 
describe  also  his  own  country  and  ancestors,  under 
all  the  impressions  of  personal  and  national  feeling, 
the  temptation  to  amplify  becomes  still  more 
imperative :  and  to  what  a  magnitude  might  a 
work  be  supposed  to  extend,  which  was  to  com¬ 
prise  the  labours  not  only  of  two  or  three  such 
writers,  but  a  long  succession  of  them,  through 
many  generations  ?  Now  the  Bible  is  this  extra¬ 
ordinary  book,  and  it  is  not  only  totally  dissimilar 
to  all  others  m  its  nature  and  execution,  but  is 
equally  contradistinguished  by  the  rarely-combined 
qualities  of  comprehension  and  succinctness.  The 


384 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


transactions  referred  to  are  grand  beyond  com¬ 
parison.  The  writers  related  occurrences  which 
excited  a  supreme  interest  in  their  minds.  They 
were  personally,  as  well  as  relatively,  connected 
with  the  circumstances  recorded.  Many  of  them 
narrated  their  own  exploits,  as  well  as  the  exploits 
referable  to  anterior  ages.  The  multifarious  writers 
consisted  of  historians,  legislators,  biographers, 
moralists,  poets,  and  prophets.  The  periods 
described,  present  a  matchless  assemblage  of  im¬ 
portant  events ;  the  creation ;  the  fall ;  the  ante¬ 
diluvian  corruption  of  man  ;  the  deluge  ;  the  con¬ 
fusion  of  tongues;  the  origin  of  all  the  great 
monarchies  of  the  earth ;  the  lives  of  the  patriarchs, 
entering  often  into  the  minutest  statements ;  their 
wonderful  escape  from  famine  ;  the  call  of  a  parti¬ 
cular  people;  (springing  from  the  patriarchs,  in 
whom  was  preserved,  amid  universal  polytheism, 
the  knowledge  of  the  one  Living  and  True  God ;) 
their  ultimate  bondage  and  miraculous  preserva¬ 
tion  ;  their  wandering,  for  forty  years,  through  the 
desert ;  the  giving  of  the  moral  and  ceremonial 
law ;  the  establishment  of  the  same  people  in 
Canaan,  where  they  were  sustained  for  fifteen 
hundred  years,  till  the  coming  of  Christ,  while 
all  the  great  dynasties  by  which  they  were  sur¬ 
rounded,  successively  crumbled  away  ; — the  Baby¬ 
lonish;  the  Assyrian;  the  Persian  ;  the  Egyptian; 
and  the  Grecian.  To  these  events  must  be  added,  the 
expulsion  of  numerous  idolatrous  long-established, 
and  powerful  nations  of  Palestine ;  the  reigns  of 
an  extensive  succession  of  monarchs,  in  two  different 
lines,  under  whom  the  grandest  and  most  complex 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS.  385 

transactions  occurred  which  could  pertain  to  sc 
limited  a  region,  including  the  destruction  of  Zion 
and  its  magnificent  temple  ;  the  captivity  of  a  whole 
people  for  twenty  years  ;  their  ultimate  redemption, 
•  with  the  rebuilding  of  their  city  and  the  temple  ot 
‘  their  great  king.’  At  length,  in  the  fulness  of 
time,  the  Saviour  of  the  world  appeared,  in  whom  a 
thousand  predictions  all  centred.  His  birth  and  an¬ 
cestry  are  narrated,  with  many  incidental  occur¬ 
rences.  His  sermons  are  given  ;  his  precepts  ;  his 
important  actions  \  his  miracles,  and  his  prophe¬ 
cies.  To  this  are  subjoined  his  arraignment  at 
the  bar  of  Pilate )  an  account  oi  the  indignities 
which  he  endured ;  his  patient  sufferings ;  his 
death,  and  his  resurrection.  To  all  this  are  added, 
the  lives  and  travels  of  his  apostles  ;  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  the  first  Christian  churches,  with  a  narra¬ 
tive  of  individual  and  general  persecutions  ;  twenty- 
one  Apostolical  epistles ;  a  voyage  abounding  with 
striking  incidents  ;  and  the  whole  concluding  with 
a  series  of  the  sublimest  Revelations ;  yet  this 
diversified  mass  of  materials  is  concentrated  into  a 
compass  which  a  finger  might  suspend,  and  away- 
faring  man  can  read  !  ”  “  All  must  feel  that  a  few 

words  added  to,  or  si*btracted  from,  many  of  the 
precepts  or  parables  of  our  Redeemer,  would  have 
jarred,  and  brougnt  down  the  whole,  comparatively 
to  a  human  level ;  but  they  stand  at  present  in  a 
sacred  investment  of  language,  which  if  they 
(with  the  other  scriptures)  were  not  guarded  ‘by 
the  plagues  which  are  written  in  this  book,’ 
none  would  dare  to  violate.  To  'furnish  an  addi¬ 
tional  example  oi  the  brevity  contained  in  scrip- 
vol.  rv.  v 


386 


ON  Til E  INSPIRATION  OF 


ture,  it  may  be  remarked,  what  an  extent  of  con¬ 
densed  meaning  appears  in  the  explanation  which 
Christ  gave  of  his  parable  of  the  end  of  the  world  • 

*  He  that  soweth  the  good  seed,  is  the  Son  of 
man  ;  the  field  is  the  world ;  the  good  seed  are  the 
children  of  the  kingdom,  but  the  tares  are  the 
children  of  the  wicked  one  ;  the  enemy  that  sowed 
them,  is  the  devil ;  the  harvest  is  the  end  of  the 
world,  and  the  reapers  are  the  angels.’  In  the 
attenuated  thread  of  ordinary  composition,  what 
space  would  not  have  been  occupied  by  this, 
and  many  other  brief  specimens  of  Biblical  narra¬ 
tive.”  “  But  to  recur,  finally,  to  the  4  size  of  the 
Bible.’  With  such  strong  inducements  to  expa¬ 
tiate,  in  the  respective  writers,  had  it  not  been  for 
an  over-ruling  Providence ,  in  restraining  their 
natural  dispositions,  a  hundred  folio  volumes  could 
scarcely  have  contained  so  vast  a  depository  as  the 
sacred  volume .  In  this  case,  for  all  practical 
purposes,  it  must  have  become  nearly  a  sealed 
book;  independently  of  the  impossibility  which 
would  have  existed,  in  a  manuscript  age ,  of  disse¬ 
minating  copies  sufficient  to  guard  against  the 
ravages  of  time,  or  to  allow  three  transcripts  to 
the  whole  world.  This  compression  must  be 
viewed  as  one  of  the  most  striking  of  the  scripture 
miracles.”  “  Jesus  Christ,  instead  of  preparing  this 
well-digested  statement  of  his  actions,  doctrines, 
and  miracles,  never  wrote  one  word !  Instead  of 
selecting  historians  to  record  h:s  lde,  from  among 
the  learned,  and  the  refined,  he  chose  rather  tor 
his  coadjutors,  and  biographers,  illiterate  fisner- 
men !  Instead  of  providing  for  the  future,  and 


387 


Tiici  OLD  AXD  NT L VV  'iLSiAMLNTS. 

testifying  an  earnestness,  lest  succeeding  genera* 
tions  should  but  imperfectly  comprehend  his  de¬ 
signs,  arising  from  the  incompetency  of  the  agents 
who  were  to  transmit  a  statement  of  them  to  pos¬ 
terity  ;  instead  of  cautioning  those  of  his  followers 
who  might  project  a  history  of  their  Master,  for 
distant  ages,  to  be  faithful  and  to  omit  no  part  of 
those  leading  points ,  on  which  the  strength  of  his 
mission  rested,  he  absolutely  gave  no  directions ; 
made  no  provision ;  and  discovered  no  solicitude !” 

24.  As  for  those  who  object  to  a  universal 
inspiration,  because  of  the  alleged  insignificance  or 
certain  topics  in  the  Bible,  we  would  bid  them 
consider  how  the  divinity  stands  related  to  the 
various  parts  in  the  volume  of  nature.  In  that 
volume  we  meet  with  interminable  variety,  from 
things  momentous  to  things  minute  and  seemingly 
insignificant— from  the  mighty  orbs  of  the  firma¬ 
ment,  to  the  particles  of  dust  that  float  in  the  sun¬ 
beam— from  organizations  the  most  exquisite,  to 
rude  and  unshapen  masses  strewn  about  in  negli¬ 
gent  confusion,  and  that  appear  subservient  to  no 
purposes  either  of  utility  or  decoration.  Yet  we 
should  not  dissociate  a  God  from  even  what  to  our 
eye  is  most  paltry  and  worthless,  in  that  vast 
assemblage  of  objects  which  make  up  His  universe. 
Though  we  can  find  no  meaning  either  in  the 
loathsome  or  in  the  little  of  creation,  we  never 
once  think  that  His  power  and  His  purpose  had 
no  concern  either  in  the  formation  or  in  the  con¬ 
tinuance  of  them.  We  admit  that  His  creative 
energy  originated  all,  and  that  His  sustaining  pro¬ 
vidence  upholds  all — in  a  word,  that  every  thing 


388 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


which  is,  though  the  least  and  the  humblest  of  His 
creatures,  was  as  much  bidden  by  Him  into  exist¬ 
ence,  and  so  is  as  instinct  with  divinity,  as  the 
noblest  and  most  stupendous  of  any  of  His  works. 
It  speaks  not  to  the  disgrace  or  degradation,  but 
to  the  incomprehensible  greatness  and  perfection 
of  the  Deity — that  there  should  be  room  alike  for 
the  vast  and  for  the  puny,  within  the  circle  of  His 
regards— that  neither  things  of  loftiest  magnificence 
should  be  above  the  reach  of  His  high  contempla¬ 
tion,  nor  things  the  most  minute  and  microscopical 
should  be  beneath  His  care— that  He  should  com¬ 
prehend  in  one  wondrous  range  of  providence  the 
extremes  of  magnitude — and  that  while  presiding 
over  the  circuits  of  immensity,  still  it  is  to  a  per¬ 
vading  energy  from  Him  that  we  are  beholden,  for 
every  pile  of  grass,  for  every  insect  wdiich  crawls 
on  earth’s  lowly  platform. 

25.  Such  being  the  character  of  His  works,  for 
ourselves  we  should  not  be  startled  or  surprised  at 
finding  an  analogous  character  in  His  word ;  or, 
though  there  should  be  things  of  exceeding  various 
import  there,  from  matters  that  appear  to  us 
thougd  falsely  of  trivial  interest,  to  matters  on  which 
there  directly  and  evidently  hinge  the  interests  of 
eternity.  We  can  see  no  incongruity,  but  the 
opposite — in  that  the  God  of  na  ture,  who  has  lavished 
such  a  profusion  of  workmanship  on  the  curious 
tabernacle  of  man’s  bodv,  and  numbers  even  the 
hairs  of  his  head — should  be  also  the  God  of  reve¬ 
lation,  though  He  there  manifests  a  wisdom  alike 
inexplicable,  in  the  minute  and  manifold  directions 
which  He  gives  for  the  complicated  structure  ef 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS.  389 

the  Jewish  temple  and  tabernacle.  In  like  man¬ 
ner,  when,  on  the  face  of  creation,  we  see  an 
extended  desert,  unpeopled  either  by  the  animal 
or  the  vegetable  tribes — we  will  not  discredit  the 
Bible,  as  being  the  workmanship  and  the  whole 
workmanship  of  God,  because  of  its  many  inter¬ 
vening  spaces,  that  present  us  with  nought  but  a 
barren  nomenclature,*  and  have  neither  narrative 
nor  doctrine  to  enliven  them.  All  we  should 
require  is  evidence,  that  the  Bible  as  a  whole  is 
Mie  production  of  God ;  and  after  that,  we  would 
^ever  propose  to  dissever  Him  from  certain  parts 
of  that  Bible,  because  of  their  fancied  unimport¬ 
ance  in  the  eyes  of  man.  He  is  no  more  to  be 
detached  from  what  might  appear  to  us  the  insig- 
nificancies  of  the  record,  than  detached  from  what 
we  might  also  esteem  to  be  the  insignificancies  of 
nature ;  and  if  there  should  occur  a  meagre  chro¬ 
nicle,  or  some  humble  incident  in  the  one — we  must 
not  forget  that  in  the  other,  there  is  many  a  naked 
rock  not  beneath  His  creative  power,  many  a 
reptile  not  beneath  His  creative  skill.  We  are 
really  no  judges  of  what  might  be  deemed  worthy 
of  a  God  to  make,  or  worthy  of  a  God  to  reveal. 
There  are  inexplicable  mysteries  both  in  His  world 
and  in  His  word ;  and,  in  as  far  as  we  are  puzzled 
to  account  for  the  apparent  uselessness  or  mean- 

*  The  nomenclature  of  scripture  is  however  not  barren.  It  has 
proved  a  guide  to  discovery  respecting  the  history  and  state  of 
nations;  and  there  is  no  calculating  on  the  uses,  in  the  way  of 
further  discovery  and  evidence,  which  its  catalogues  of  name9 
may  yet  subserve.  See  the  identity  of  the  Ishmaelites  and  Ara¬ 
bians,  demonstrated  by  the  Rev.  Charles  Forster  in  his  work  on 
Mahommedanism. 


390 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


ness  of  certain  parts  in  either,  the  mysteries  axe 
completely  analogous.  After  the  evidence  in  fact* 
whether  of  Ood  being  the  author  of  nature  or 
the  revealer  of  scripture— we  hold  all  objections 
grounded  on  the  littleness  of  the  products  in  the 
one,  or  the  littleness  of  the  informations  in  the 
other,  to  be  irrelevant  and  presumptuous.  In  the 
actual  state  of  the  proofs  for  the  Bible  being  en¬ 
tirely  the  product  of  His  wisdom,  we  are  as  little 
disposed  to  regard  a  single  verse  as  the  manufac¬ 
ture  of  man,  because  of  its  unimportance — as  to 
believe  that  the  lowly  weed  is  the  offspring  of 
some  inferior  power,  because  it  wants  the  loveli¬ 
ness  or  the  grandeur  of  higher  objects  in  creation. 

26.  The  arguments  for  inspiration  have  been 
charged  with  the  vice  of  reasoning  in  a  circle. 
For  example,  and  as  one  of  these  arguments,  the 
apostles  themselves  tell  us  that  they  were  inspired. 
To  this  effect  they  quote  the  promise  of  our  Lord, 
who  assured  them  that  He  would  send  the  Spirit 

_ one  of  whose  functions  it  should  be  to  bring  all 

things  to  their  remembrance.  Their  statement  of 
the  promise,  deriving  all  its  authority  from  the 
fidelity  of  their  remembrance,  is  to  us  the  proof  of 
their  inspiration ;  but  the  inspiration  was  given  to 
secure  the  accuracy  of  their  remembrance.  So 
that  our  trusting  to  their  remembrance,  when  they 
ell  us  of  their  inspiration,  is  very  like  a  petitio 
principii — because,  when  confiding  in  the  apostolic 
statement,  we  seem  to  take  for  granted  the  inspira¬ 
tion  which  that  statement  is  brought  to  prove 
But  the  real  soundness  and  consecutiveness  of  the 
argument  may,  we  think,  be  manifested  by  the 


THjJ  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS.  39 

following  illustration — Suppose  I  were  told  by 
another  a  hundred  different  things,  all  of  which  it 
was  of  importance  I  should  distinctly  remember, 
perhaps  for  the  purpose  of  giving  forth  a  publica¬ 
tion  about  them — there  would  certainly  be  some 
hazard  of  my  recollection  not  serving  me  in  so  many 
instances;  but.  suppose  further  a  collection  of 
written  notices  on  the  whole  subject,  placed  in 
some  depository  that  should  be  open  to  me  when  I 
stood  in  need  of  refreshing  my  memory ;  and  I 
wrere  told  that  I  should  find  all  requisite  aid  for 
the  penning  of  my  history  there.  Though,  without 
this  expedient,  there  was  the  utmost  danger,  or 
rather  the  utmost  certainty,  that  I  would  not 
recollect  with  unfailing  accuracy  the  hundred  things 
wherewith  I  had  been  charged,  there  would  be, 
along  with  this,  the  undoubted  security,  that  I 
wrould  not  forget  the  one  thing  of  a  general  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  depository,  whenever  I  stood  in  need 
of  having  all  the  varied  informations  I  ever  re¬ 
ceived,  distinctly  and  in  all  their  minuteness  re¬ 
called  to  me.  There  might  be  a  dead  certainty 
of  my  being  correct  in  one  act  of  the  memory, 
however  impossible  that  I  could  be  correct  in  a 
hundred  acts  ;  and  that,  not  merely,  because  it  is 
easier  to  remember  one  thing  than  a  hundred,  but 
because  the  very  great  and  general  importance  of 
this  one  thing,  comprehensive  in  fact  of  all  the 
rest,  could  not  fail  to  find  such  a  lodgment  for 
itself  in  my  recollection,  as  would  give  me  the 
rno-al  certainty  at  all  times,  that  my  superior  had 
referred  me  to  the  depository,  and  that  in  that 
depository  I  should  find  all  the  aid  and  information 


392  *  ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF  . 

requisite  to  qualify  me  for  the  undertaking  he  had 
put  into  my  hands. 

27.  Now  the  parallel  is  just  as  close  and  con¬ 
vincing  as  possible.  The  varied  incidents  of  our 
Saviour’s  life  and  sayings  as  recorded  in  the  four 
evangelists,  all  the  apostles  together  could  not 
have  borne  in  their  memory  alone;  but  the  one 
promise  of  a  monitor  who  should  bring  all  these 
things  to  their  remembrance,  not  one  of  them 
would  forget.  That  the  information  they  wanted 
was  all  lodged  in  the  upper  depository  of  heaven, 
and  that  it  might  be  fetched  down  thence  by  be¬ 
lieving  prayer  in  all  needful  supplies  for  the  various 
branches  of  the  apostolic  office,  they  could  not  fail 
both  to  recollect  and  to  proceed  upon.  The  several 
Hundred  things  in  all  their  minuteness,  they  could 
not  by  any  possibility  have  actually  remembered 
of  themselves;  but  as  to  the  one  thing,  the  all 
important  one  thing,  there  was  just  as  little  possi¬ 
bility  of  any  one  of  them  being  mistaken.  We 
have  thus  as  good  evidence  of  the  inspiration  of 
the  apostles,  as  we  have  of  any  one  memorable 
and  palpable  fact  recorded  in  any  of  the  four  evan¬ 
gelists.  The  suggestions  of  the  Spirit  too,  when 
.‘ringing  things  to  their  remembrance,  would,  in 
most  instances,  be  accompanied  by  a  consciousness 
and  an  act  of  concurrence  on  the  part  of  their  own 
natural  memory,  that  each  suggestion  was  a  correct 
me  ;*  and  hence  a  daily  and  growing  confidence 
in  the  fidelity  of  that  monitor,  whose  office  it  waa 
to  guide  them  unto  all  truth 


*  See  our  Natural  Theology,  Book  IV.,  Chap,  i..  Art.  3« 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS. 


393 


18.  i  here  is  a  certain  reigning  character 
tnroughout  all  the  doctrine  and  all  the  morality  of 
scripture,  wherewith  this  tenet  of  a  partial  or  modi¬ 
fied  inspiration  is  totally  and  irreconcileably  at 
variance.  Whatever  principle  it  announces,  it 
announces  in  that  absolute  and  uncompromising 
way,  which  admits  of  no  indulgence  for  the  least 
shade  or  degree  of  its  opposite.  Of  this,  innu¬ 
merable  instances  might  be  given.  44  He  that 
someth  in  one  point  is  guilty  of  all,”  so  as  to  bring 
upon  him  the  lull  weight  of  an  outraged  law  by 
one  iota  of  deviation.  44  He  that  is  unfaithful  in 
the  least  is  unfaithful  also  in  much” _ thus  dis¬ 

claiming  all  toleration  for  what  may  be  deemed  by 
Ub  to  be  the  slighter  iniquities  of  human  conduct. 


x  he  accursed  thing  of  Achan  brought  down,  in 
judgment  from  heaven,  discomfiture  and  dismay 
on  the  thousands  of  Israel.  The  eating  of  one 
solitary  because  forbidden  apple,  put  forth  a  world 
and  its  outcast  species  from  beyond  the  pale  of 
God’s  unfallen  creation.  44  One  jot  or  one  tittle 
shall  in  no  wise  pass  from  the  law  till  all  be  ful¬ 
filled;”  and  it  would  come  all  the  nearer  to  our 


argument,  if  law  were  taken  in  the  bibliographical 
sense  of  it,  as  expressing  a  portion,  or  even  at 
times  the  whole  of  the  scripture.  44  Whosoever 
breaketh  the  least  of  these  commandments  shall 
not  enter  into  heaven.”  This  rigid,  this  resolute 
assertion  of  a  principle,  to  be  upheld  in  all  its 
entireness,  and  not  deviated  from  by  a  single  hair¬ 
breadth,  is  one  great  characteristic  of  the  Bible, 
^he  whole  epistle  to  the  Galatians  is  founded  upon 
U.  There  was  one  solitary  rite  to  which  the 

r  2 


394  ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 

/ 

apostle  would  give  no  quarter,  not  for  an  hour, 
because  it  tre ached,  by  however  so  small  a  frac¬ 
tion,  on  the  doctrine  of  justificadon  by  faith  alone. 
The  scripture  abounds  in  specimens  of  this  sort 
— announcing  its  principle  with  all  the  decision 
and  distinctness  of  a  category ;  and  planting  an 
impassable  barrier,  or  describing  a  clear  and  unef- 
faceable  line  of  demarcation,  between  that  principle 
and  its  opposite.  There  is  no  shifting,  no  shuf¬ 
fling  between  the  incompatible  terms  of  an  alterna¬ 
tive.  In  the  spirit  of  a  prompt  and  steadfast  and 
exalted  consistency,  it  abhors  all  amalgamation  of 
things  by  nature  immiscible ;  and  this  we  under¬ 
stand  to  have  been  the  spirit,  in  which  Paul 
affirmed,  that  salvation  is  either  wholly  of  works 
or  wholly  of  grace.  It  must  be  of  the  one  alto¬ 
gether  or  of  the  other  altogether,  but  not  a  com¬ 
position  of  both.  “  If  by  grace  it  is  no  more  of 
works,  otherwise  grace  is  no  more  grace.  But  if 
it  be  of  works  then  it  is  no  more  of  grace,  other¬ 
wise  work  is  no  more  work/’  And  we  hold  that 
on  the  question  of  inspiration,  there  is  the  same 
kind  of  impregnable  rampart,  by  which  to  guard 
from  all  commixture  and  commutation,  a  doctrine 
intact  and  inviolable.  That  venerable  record  which 
has  come  down  through  a  long  succession  of  pro¬ 
phets,  and  passed  the  ordeal  of  Christ  and  His 
apostles,  and  has  been  handed  from  one  age  to 
another  in  the  unquestioned  character  all  along  of 
being  the  word  of  God — it  is  not  a  medley  of 
things  divine  and  things  human;  but  is  either 
throughout  a  fallible  composition,  or  throughout 
and  in  all  its  parts  the  rescript  of  the  only  wise  and 


THE  OLD  AKD  NEW  TESTAMENTS. 

true  God.  Ail  over  it  nas  the  strength  and 
faithfulness  of  the  divinity,  or  ail  over  the  weak¬ 
ness  and  fallibility  of  man.  It  is  the  Bible  or  it 
is  no  Bible.  We  keep  by  the  former  term  of  the 
alternative.  We  hold  all  the  ground  to  be  holy, 
that  is  within  the  limits  of  this  venerable  record ; 
and  that  the  fence  thrown  around  it  admits  of  no 
inroad  to  that  which  is  human,  among  that  which 
is  purely  and  sacredly  and  altogether  divine.  It 
is  guarded,  strictly  and  severely  guarded,  by  the 
menaces  of  a  jealous  God,  against  the  daring  foot¬ 
step  ol  any  who  shall  intrude  within  its  barrier _ 

either  on  purpose  to  add,  or  on  purpose  to  take 
away.  He  hath  done  to  scripture  what  he  did  to 
Sinai,  when  He  set  bounds  about  the  mount,  and 
did  sanctify  it — so  that  should  priests  or  people 
break  through  to  bring  up  their  words  beside  the 
words  of  the  Lord,  the  Lord  would  break  forth 
upon  them. 

29.  We  may  have  differed  from  the  advocates 
of  a  rigid  and  universal  inspiration,  in  their  notions 
regarding  the  process  of  a  universal  suggestion; 
but,  in  asserting  out  and  out  the  perfection  and 
immaculate  purity  of  the  sacred  volume,  we  have 
not  receded  behind  them  by  a  single  hairbreadth. 
We  know  that  on  every  great  question,  the  contest 
between  the  right  and  the  wrong  lies  at  the  place 
of  separation  between  them — for  if  the  slightest 
inroad  beyond  the  limit  be  admitted,  it  is  tanta¬ 
mount  to  a  surrender  of  the  cause.  We  know 
that  the  anti-apocryphalists  of  the  day,  have  been 
accused  of  too  fiercely  resenting  the  encroachments 
that  have  been  attempted,  on  the  canon  and  in- 


396 


ON  THE  INSPIRATION  OF 


spiration  of  scripture,  and  that,  on  the  plea  of  the  en* 
croachments  being  slight  ones.  We  shall  say  no¬ 
thing  of  the  resentment ;  but,  however  slight  those 
encroachments  may  have  been,  they  could  not  be  too 
strenously  or  too  energetically  resisted.  The  truth 
is,  that  on  every  conflict  of  principle,  it  is  at  the  line 
of  demarcation  tnat  the  battle  must  be  fought,  and 
that  the  battle  is  terminated.  Should  the  charm  and 
tiie  sacredness  be  broken,  by  which  the  margin  of  an 
else  inviolable  territory  is  guarded,  the  whole  length 
and  breadth  of  the  sanctuary  lie  open  to  spoliation  ; 
and  unless  the  assault  be  repelled  at  the  breach,  all 
the  goodliness  within  may  at  length  be  trodden 
under  foot  of  the  invaders.  What  is  true  of  nations 
in  the  gladiatorship  of  arms,  is  true  of  principles  in 
the  gladiatorship  of  argument.  Should  a  hostile 
army  plant  one  footstep  within  the  landmarks  of  a 
kingdom,  this  is  enough  to  arouse  a  sensitive  and 
high-minded  people  in  vengeance  on  the  aggressors  ) 
and  that,  though  no  part  of  the  country  is  seized 
upon,  but  the  boundary  is  passed.  And  so  in  the 
controversy  before  us.  It  is  the  part  of  Christians 
to  rise  like  a  wall  of  fire  around  the  integrity  and 
inspiration  of  scripture  ;  and  to  hold  them  as  intact 
and  inviolable,  as  if  a  rampart  were  thrown  around 
them,  whose  foundations  are  on  earth  and  whose 
battlements  are  in  heaven.  It  is  this  tampering 
with  limits  that  destroys  and  defaces  everything ; 
and  therefore  it  is  precisely  when  the  limit  is 
broken,  that  the  alarm  should  be  sounded.  If  the 
battle-cry  is  to  be  lifted  at  all,  it  should  be  lifted 
at  the  outset ;  and  so  on  the  first  mingling,  by 


THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS. 


397 


however  so  slight  an  infusion,  of  things  human 
with  things  divine,  all  the  friends  of  the  Bible 
should  join  heart  and  hand,  against  so  foul  and 
fearful  a  desecration. 


CHAPTER  III. 

On  the  Internal  Evidence  as  a  Criterion  for  the 
Canon  and  Inspiration  of  Scripture . 

1.  In  arguing  for  the  inspiration  of  scripture, 
the  right  order  of  proof  seems  to  be  the  following. 
There  is  a  collection  of  sacred  writings,  acknow¬ 
ledged  as  such  both  by  Jews  and  Christians, 
which,  from  the  days  of  Christ  and  His  apostles, 
has  been  designated  by  certain  titles,  appropriated 
to  that  collection,  and  to  it  exclusively — insomuch 
that  these  titles  have  in  them  all  the  force  and 
distinction  of  a  proper  name.  It  is  under  one  or 
other  of  its  proper  names,  by  which  it  is  individual¬ 
ized  and  separated  from  all  other  writings,  that 
this  collection  is  so  often  referred  to  in  the  New 
Testament — where  the  properties  of  infallibility 
and  inspiration  are  distinctly  and  repeatedly 
awarded  to  them.  This  forms  the  main  proof  of 
the  inspiration  of  a  certain  aggregate  or  collection 
of  writings — after  which,  the  question  of  the 
inspiration  of  any  particular  hook  or  writing 
resolves  into  the  question,  whether  or  not  it  had  a 
place  in  this  collection,  or  whether  or  not  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Christian  era,  it  formed  part 


398  ON  THE  INTERNAL-EVIDENCE  FOR 

of  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament.  This  last  is 
a  question  which  we  might  either  be  prepared 
with  beforehand;  or  which  we  might  determine 
afterwards,  'when  our  proofs  for  the  inspiration  of 
that  general  book,  termed  scripture  or  scriptures, 
have  been  completed.  The  inspiration  of  scrip¬ 
ture  in  the  gross,  rests  chiefly  on  the  testimony  of 
Christ  and  His  apostles.  The  inspiration  of 
particular  books  or  portions  now  in  scripture  rests 
chiefly  on  the  evidence  that  they  belong  to  the 
canon,  or  in  other  words,  that  they  were  also  then 
in  scripture ;  for  then  they  must  have  been  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  sanction  given  by  the  founders  of 
the  Christian  religion  to  scripture,  and  to  all 
scripture.  When  any  particular  book  is  thus 
sanctioned,  and  so  admitted  to  speak  for  itself, 
there  is  often  a  mighty  addition  given  to  the  evi¬ 
dence  for  its  inspiration,  in  its  own  averments 
now  made  credible — when  it  tells,  as  is  fre¬ 
quently  done,  in  a  variety  of  forms  and  expres¬ 
sions,  not  that  thus  saith  the  human  author,  but 
that  “  thus  saith  the  Lord.”  Beside  then  the 
general  question  of  inspiration,  the  question  of  the 
canon  is  indispensable,  to  ascertain  what  the  par¬ 
ticular  books  are,  to  which  the  credit  of  inspiration 
should  be  given.  The  question  of  inspiration 
determines  the  homage  which  is  due  to  scripture 
m  the  general;  and  the  question  of  the  canon 
determines  what  the  particular  books  are.  to  which 
this  homage  should  be  rendered.  We  must  have 
recourse  to  the  one  question,  when  we  want  to 
establish  the  amount  of  deference  or  submission, 
that  we  owe  to  scripture  at  large.  We  must  have 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  399 

eoourse  to  the  other  question,  when  we  want  to 
establish,  whether  this  deference  be  due  to  any 
certain  specified  book,  whether  in  or  out  of  our 
present  scriptures.  The  two  questions  of  the 
inspiration  and  the  canon  stand  related  to  each 
other  as  do  the  members  of  the  following  syllogism. 
— All  scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God  : 
The  book  of  Proverbs  is  part  of  scripture  :  There¬ 
fore  the  book  of  Proverbs  is  given  by  inspiration 
of  God.  It  is  by  rightly  determining  the  general 
question  of  the  inspiration,  that  we  are  enabled  to 
state  rightly  the  major  proposition.  The  minor 
proposition  is  determined  by  the  canon. 

2.  The  evidence,  then,  on  which  the  canonicity 
of  any  book  in  scripture  rests,  is  clearly  an  exter¬ 
nal  evidence — that  i *  external,  if  not  to  the  whole 
Bible,  at  least  to  the  particular  book  in  question. 
We  derive  our  information  and  belief  of  its  place 
m  scripture,  from  the  testimony  of  others  beside 
its  own  author, — from  the  various  references 
which  can  be  found  to  it  whether  scriptural  or  ex- 
scriptural — from  the  authority  of  ancient  catalogues 
. — or,  lastly,  from  the  concurrence,  both  of  Jews 
and  Christians,  even  to  this  present  day,  in  its 
favour.  Now  all  these  proofs  for  the  canon  of  the 
Old  Testament  are  clearly  external;  and  that 
evidence  is  still  more  palpably  so  by  which  we 
establish  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament.  When 
we  look  to  the  goodly  succession  of  those  testi¬ 
monies,  which  have  determined  the  canon  of  these 
later  scriptures — we  find  that  one  and  all  of  them 
are  external ;  and  this  character  applies  to  each 
distinct  head  of  argument  given  or.  till:  subject  by 


400  ON  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  FOR 


Dr.  Paley.  Let  as  exhibit  them  in  order,  only 
extending  what  he  says  of  the  historical  to  all  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament.  “  1st,  The  books 
of  the  New  Testament,  are  quoted,  or  alluded  to, 
by  a  series  of  Christian  writers,  beginning  with 
those  who  were  contemporary  with  the  apostles, 
or  who  immediately  followed  them,  and  proceed 
ing  in  close  and  regular  succession  from  their  time 
to  the  present.”  “  2d,  When  the  scriptures  aie 
quoted  or  alluded  to,  they  are  quoted  with  peculiar 
respect,  as  books  sui  generis ;  as  possessing  an 
authority  which  belonged  to  no  other  books,  and 
as  conclusive  in  all  questions  and  controversies 
amongst  Christians.”  ;*3d,  The  scriptures  were 
in  very  early  times  collected  into  a  distinct  volume.” 
“  4th,  Our  present  sacred  writings  were  soon  dis¬ 
tinguished  by  appropriate  names  and  titles  of 
respect.”  “  5th,  Our  scriptures  were  publicly 
read  and  expounded  in  the  religious  assemblies  of 
the  early  Christians.”  4  i  6th,  Commentaries  were 
anciently  written  upon  the  scriptures ;  harmonies 
formed  out  of  them ;  different  copies  carefully 
collated ;  and  versions  made  of  them  into  different 
languages.”  “  7th,  Our  scriptures  were  received 
by  ancient  Christians  of  different  sects  and  per¬ 
suasions,  by  many  heretics  as  well  as  catholics, 
and  were  usually  appealed  to  by  both  sides  in  the 
controversies  which  arose  in  those  days.”  “  8th, 

1  he  four  Gospels,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  thb 
teen  epistles  of  St.  Paul,  the  first  epistle  of  John, 
and  the  first  of  Peter,  were  received  w  ithout  doubt 
by  those  who  doubted  concerning  the  other  books 
which  are  included  in  our  present  canon.”  u  9th, 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


401 


Our  historical  scriptures  were  attacked  by  the 
early  adversaries  of  Christianity,  as  containing 
the  accounts  upon  which  the  religion  was  founded.*’ 
“  10th,  Formal  catalogues  of  authentic  scriptures 
were  published,  in  all  of  which  our  present  sacred 
histories  were  included,  till  at  length  when  the 
information  respecting  them  had  spread  sufficiently, 
and  their  claims  were  acknowledged  throughout 
the  church  at  large,  all  our  present  New  Testae 
ment  scriptures  were  included  also.”  “  11th, 
These  propositions  cannot  be  predicated  of  any  of 
those  books  which  are  commonly  called  apocry¬ 
phal  books  of  the  New  Testament.” — The  reader 
will  not  fail  to  perceive  that  each  of  these  con¬ 
siderations  forms  an  external  argument,  or  bear& 
upon  it  the  character  of  external  evidence  for  the 
canon  of  the  Old  Testament. 

3.  But  many  writers,  in  arguing  whether  for 
the  canonical  rank  or  the  inspiration  of  particular 
books,  have  appealed  to  internal  evidence  also. 
That  is,  over  and  above  the  statement  which  the 
author  makes  of  a  supernatural  communication 
which  he  had  received  from  God,  they  appeal  to 
the  scriptural  quality  of  the  communication  itself. 
They  reason  for  its  being  a  divine  production, 
from  the  nature  of  the  product;  as  if  it  were 
competent  for  man  to  discern  such  characters  of 
truth  and  majesty  and  sacredness  in  the  work 
itself,  as  bespeak  the  high  and  heavenly  origin 
from  which  it  has  descended.  They  seem  as  if 
shut  up  unto  this  conclusion  by  a  sort  of  felt 
necessity — as  if  the  common  people,  who  should 
have  a  reason  also  for  the  hope  that  is  in  them, 


402  ON  THE  INTERNAL  evidence  for 

and  are  utter  strangers  to  the  erudition  of  the 
external  argument,  must  have  access  to  the  know¬ 
ledge  and  belief  of  the  inspiration  of  each  particular 
book  in  some  other  way.  And,  as  it  is  not  any 
thing  without  the  book  which  forms  their  reason ; 
it  is  imagined,  if  they  have  found  a  reason  at  all, 
they  must  find  it  in  the  book.  There  are  several 
writers  on  the  canon  of  scripture,  who  appear  to 
have  reduced  themselves  to  this  conclusion,  by  the 
manner  in  which  they  had  urged  the  vital  and 
fundamental  importance  of  a  well-grounded  belief, 
in  the  scriptural  authority  of  every  book  that  we 
receive  as  scripture.  And  as  the  unlearned  are 
ignorant  of  the  external,  there  seems  no  other 
resource  left  for  them,  than  that  they  must  be 
guided  and  determined,  in  the  homage  which  they 
render  to  the  divine  authority  of  any  book,  by  the 
internal  evidence.  And  accordingly,  it  has  been 
argued  of  these  pious  and  unlearned  believers, 
that,  in  the  perusal  of  scripture,  they  have  the 

taste  and  discernment  of  its  inspired  quality _ in 

virtue  of  which,  they  could  make  distinction  for 
example,  between  the  Book  of  Proverbs  as  the 
genuine  progeny  of  inspiration,  and  the  Book  of 
Wisdom  or  the  Book  of  Ecclesiasticus  as  not  so. 

4.  These  writers  seem  to  have  involved  them¬ 
selves  in  a  dilemma,  or  at  least  to  have  outrun  the 
convictions  of  the  intelligent  in  their  speculations 
on  this  subject.  To  us  it  appears  palpably  in¬ 
competent  for  a  reader,  either  learned  or  unlearned, 
to  discriminate  between  all  the  genuinely  scrip¬ 
tural,  and  all  the  apocryphal  books  in  this  way. 
But  again,  it  is  quite  as  obvious  of  the  great 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


403 


majority  of  Christians,  that  neither  have  they 
sought  for  satisfaction  in  the  other  way,  or  by  the 
study  of  the  external  evidence.  Between  the  one 
and  the  other,  it  remains  a  question  for  solution — 
whether  there  be  any  real  or  rational  ground  of 
evidence  for  the  faith  of  the  common  people. 

5.  This  question,  substantially  at  least  if  not  in 
one  particular  form,  was  much  agitated  in  the 
days  of  the  reformation.  Papists  of  course 
affirmed  that  the  power  of  determination  between 
canonical  and  apocryphal  scriptures,  lay  with  the 
Pope  or  council ;  and  that  the  people  at  large  had 
no  other  way  of  distinguishing  between  them,  than 
by  the  decrees  of  the  church.  The  champions  of 
protestantism,  in  opposing  such  a  high  pretension 
of  authority  over  the  faith  of  the  people  in  this 
question,  behoved  to  find  out  a  principle,  on  which 
the  people  might  determine  it  for  themselves.  It 
is  obvious,  that,  if  the  scriptural  authority  of  any 
particular  book  was  made  exclusively  to  rest  on 
the  testimonies  of  ancient  times,  they  were  only 
the  learned  who  could  be  satisfied  of  this  at  first 
hand ;  and  still,  as  before,  the  few  had  to  tell  the 
many  what  books  they  were  to  receive  as  inspired, 
and  what  they  were  to  reject.  This  had  the 
appearance  of  Popery  in  another  form,  inasmuch 
as  the  great  bulk  of  the  people  still  believed,  or  at 
least  acquiesced,  in  certain  books  as  scriptures,  at 
the  dictation  of  others  :  And,  to  exalt  the  authority 
of  private  judgment  over  all  other  authority,  it 
seemed  necessary  to  find  out  some  other  principle 
than  the  historical  evidence,  on  which  it  might  be 
competent  for  all  to  form  their  own  independent 


404  ON  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  FOR 

decision.  And  accordingly,  among  the  Protestant 
writers  of  these  days,  we  find  it  contended  that  the 
books  of  scripture  can  only  manifest  themselves  as 
such,  by  their  own  internal  evidence,  or  powerful 
influence  upon  the  heart — or  even  by  the  internal 
testimony  of  the  Spirit  to  their  divinity.  It  is 
the  language  of  Whitaker,  that  “our  scriptures 
areto.be  acknowledged  or  received,  not  because 
the  church  has  appointed  or  commanded  so,  but 
because  they  came  from  God ;  and  that  they  came 
from  God  cannot  be  certainly  known  by  the 
church,  but  from  the  Holy  Ghost.”  Even  Calvin 
says,  “  all  must  allow  that  there  are  in  the  scrip¬ 
tures  manifest  evidences  of  God  speaking  in  them. 
The  majesty  of  God  in  them  will  presently  appear 
to  every  impartial  examiner,  which  will  extort  our 
assent:  So  that  they  act  preposterously  who 
endeavour  by  any  argument  to  beget  a  solid  credit 
to  the  scriptures — the  word  will  never  meet  with 
credit  in  men’s  minds,  till  it  be  sealed  by  the  inter¬ 
nal  testimony  of  the  Spirit  who  wrote  it.”  The  fol¬ 
lowing  extracts  by  Jones,  from  certain  Protestant 
confessions,  are  in  the  same  strain.  “  These,” 
say  the  compilers  of  the  Dutch  Confession,  in 
1566,  “these  we  receive  as  the  only  sacred  and 
canonical  books,  not  because  the  church  receives 
them  as  such,  but  because  the  Holy  Spirit  wit- 
nesseth  to  our  consciences  that  they  proceed  from 
God,  and  themselves  testify  their  authority.”  The 
Gallican  church  declares  in  their  confession — not 
only  that  their  general  faith  in  scripture  depends 
on  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit,  giving  to  the  mind 
an  internal  persuasion  of  their  truth;  but  that 


INSPIRATION  OF  sCltlPTUllfc.  405 

hereby  also  they  know  the  canonical  from  the 
apocryphal  books.  In  like  manner  Dr  Owen,  in 
his  Treatise  on  the  Divine  Original  of  Scripture, 
says  “  that  the  scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  do  abundantly  and  uncontrollably 
manifest  themselves  to  be  the  word  of  the  living 
God ;  so  that  merely  on  the  account  of  their  own 
proposal  to  us,  in  the  name  and  majesty  of  God 
as  such,  without  the  contribution  of  help  or  assist¬ 
ance  from  tradition,  church,  or  any  thing  else 
without  themselves,  we  are  obliged,  upon  the 
penalty  of  eternal  damnation,  to  receive  them  with 
that  subjection  of  soul,  which  is  due  to  the  word 
of  God.  The  authority  of  God  shining  in  them, 
they  afford  unto  us  all  the  divine  evidence  of  them¬ 
selves,  which  God  is  willing  to  grant  to  us,  or  can 
be  granted  to  us,  or  is  -any  way  needful  for  us.” 
—Now,  it  must  be  quite  obvious,  that,  if  left  to 
this  test  alone,  we  could  not,  by  the  single  virtue 
u'i  its  application,  determine  on  the  rightful  place 
:n  scripture,  of  all  the  thirty-nine  books  in  the 
Old,  and  twenty-seven  books  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment.  Let  each  individual  be  left  to  himself  in 
this  matter,  with  but  this  guidance  only,  and  there 
could  be  no  security,  either  that  he  admitted  all 
that  was  right  into  his  canon,  or  kept  all  that  was 
wrong  out  of  it.  Richard  Baxter  seems  to  have 
thought  more  judiciously  on  this  subject  than  some 
of  his  contemporaries.  “  For  my  part,”  says  he, 
“  I  confess,  I  could  never  boast  of  any  such  testi¬ 
mony  or  light  of  the  Spirit  (nor  reason  neither) 
which,  without  human  testimony,  would  have  made 
me  believe,  that  the  book  of  Canticles  is  canonical 


406  ON  THE  I  N T E  «  .  tflDENCE  FOR 

*  \ 

and  written  by  Solr^on,  and  the  boo*  u  Wisdom 
apocryphal  and  written  4>hil0,  &c.  Nor  eottia 
I  have  know*/  all,  or  any  historic^  books,  such  as 
Joshua,  Judges,  Ruth,  Samuel,  Kings,  Chroibeles, 
Ezra,  Nehemiah,  &c.,  to  be  written  by  divine 
inspiration,  but  by  tradition,”  &c.  There  is 
obviously  then  a  confusion  of  sentiment  on  tLn 
subject,  and  amongst  theologians  of  highest  name 
— a  mixture  of  truth  and  error,  which  error,  at  f  ? 
same  time,  is  but  truth  misapplied,  or  a  right 
principle  carried  to  extravagance.  By  a  right 
statement  of  the  order  of  proof,  we  think,  that  the 
whole  of  this  perplexity  might  be  unravelled ;  #id 
the  question  be  adjusted  in  all  its  parts. 

6.  A  book  in  scripture  might  be  made  the  sub 
ject  of  two  distinct  affirmations — one  belonging  to 
the  history  of  the  book,  the  other  to  its  character 
or  properties.  It  may  be  said  of  it,  that  it  has 
been  regarded  as  scripture  from  the  earliest  times 
■ — and  by  those  too  most  competent  to  judge  of  its 
title  to  a  place  in  the  collection.  Or  it  may  be 
said  of  it,  that  it  has  the  power  of  so  influencing 
the  heart,  and  so  convincing  the  judgment,  both 
by  its  adaptations  to  human  nature  and  by  its  har¬ 
monies  with  the  general  system  of  revealed  truth 
— that,  when  these  are  fully  manifested,  they  evince 
its  authorship  to  be  of  God.  These  propositions 
are  distinct ;  but  they  are  not  incompatible.  And 
each  may  be  tested  by  a  proper  and  peculiar  evi¬ 
dence  of  its  own.  The  one,  if  true,  is  an  historical 
truth  ;  and  the  way  to  ascertain  it  is  by  an  examina¬ 
tion  of  the  testimonies  of  ancient  times.  The  other, 
if  true,  is  an  experimental  truth  ;  and  to  ascertain 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTUR2.  >»y4 

it,  it  must  be  made  the  subject  of  a  present  and  a 
personal  trial.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  he  who 
has  made  full  application  of  the  first  of  these  ordeals 
to  the  book  in  question,  and  with  a  satisfactory  re¬ 
sult,  has  a  much  firmer  ground  on  which  to  rest  its 
canonicity,  than  the  authority  of  the  church.  On 
the  arena  of  this  investigation,  the  learned  among 
the  Protestants  have  held  contest  with  the  learned 
among  the  Catholics,  and  made  full  proof  of  their 
superiority.  They  have  vindicated  the  high  prero¬ 
gatives  of  reason  ;  and,  appealing  to  the  document 
of  past  ages  soundly  and  critically  estimated,  they 
can  give  a  reason  for  their  faith. 

7.  But  the  question  still  remains,  can  any 
rational  origin  be  assigned  for  the  faith  of  the 
common  people  ? — or,  is  it  by  a  rational  process  at 
all  that  they  have  been  led  to  it?  When  they 
believe  that  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes  in  the  Old 
Testament,  or  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  in  the 
New  is  the  word  of  God — do  they  not  believe  this 
at  the  telling  of  another,  of  the  minister  or  of  the 
church  to  which  they  belong  ?  And  at  this  rate, 
how  can  we  get  quit  cf  authority  and  of  blind 
assent  in  matters  of  re’jgion  ?  Do  we  not  behold 
it  of  extensive  influei  ce  in  all  denominations — and, 
whether  among  Protestants  or  Catholics,  has  it 
not  a  principal  share  in  upnolding  the  Christianity 
of  the  world  ? 

8.  There  is  a  principle  which  we  have  laboured 
to  unfold  in  another  place  ;*  and  its  application 
to  our  present  question,  is  to  us  a  new  demonstra* 

•  See  our  Natural  Thcologv,  Foot  I.,  Chap.  U. 


408  ON  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  FOR 


tion  of  its  value.  Long  before  the  certainties  of  a 
subject  have  become  so  manifest  as  to  compel  our 
belief,  its  likelihood?  may  from  the  very  first  be 
such  as  to  form  a  righ^'jil  claim  upon  our  attention. 
To  be  convinced  of  the  reality  of  this  distinction, 
we  have  only  to  consider  the  tftate  of  mind  at  the 
outset  of  every  successful  inquiry  issuing  in  full 
conviction,  and  the  state  of  mind  at  the  termina¬ 
tion  of  it.  Long  anterior  to  the  exhibition  of 
those  undoubted  verities  which  command  our 
faith,  there  might  be  that  aspect  of  verisimilitude 
which  calls  for  our  most  serious  and  respectful 
examination.  Insomuch,  that,  with  but  the  sem¬ 
blance  of  truth  in  any  given  proposition,  with  but 
this  chance  in  its  favour  and  consequent  hazard  of 
doing  violence  to  some  rightful  demand  on  our 
faith  or  obedience  by  putting  it  away  from  us,  we 
might  incur  the  guilt  of  a  moral  unfairness  by  our 
summary  rejection  of  it ;  and  so  the  condemnation 
of  our  resulting  unbelief,  not  because  we  refused 
our  assent  in  opposition  to  the  ultimate  proofs  but 
simply  because  we  refused  our  attention  to  the 
incipient  probabilities  of  the  subject,  might  have  a 
clear  moral  principle  to  rest  upon  it. 

9.  The  church  tells  her  people,  that  the  book 
of  Proverbs  is  an  inspired  composition.  Whatever 
faith  the  people  may  give  to  this  announcement,  it 
Is  not  yet  faith  upon  evidence — nor,  in  this  state, 
has  it  all  the  properties  of  that  faith  which  is  unto 
salvation.  But  here  lies  the  difference  between 
the  Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant  churches. 
The  former  is  satisfied  with  this  blind  and  unhesi¬ 
tating  faith  on  the  part  of  its  members,  and  seek* 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  409 

for  no  other ;  nay  throws  a  barrier  in  the  way  of 
any  other,  if  not  by  a  prohibition  to  read  the  scrip¬ 
tures,  at  least  by  the  discouragement  which  it  casts 
on  the  exercise  of  private  judgment.  Now  that 
reading  of  the  sacred  volume,  which  the  Catholic 
church  forbids  or  discountenances,  the  Protestant 
church  inculcates.  If  the  authority  of  the  one 
church  be  employed,  in  preventing  the  use  of  the 
sciiptures,  the  authority  of  the  other  is  employed, 
in  enjoining  the  use  of  the  scriptures.  The  com¬ 
pliance  of  the  people  with  this  mandate  may  argue 
a  sort  of  general  faith,  but  not  the  saving  faith  of 
the  Gospel.  They  may  read  their  Bibles  because 
they  are  bidden,  or  they  may  attend  to  them  be¬ 
cause  they  are  bidden ;  but  they  do  not  and  can¬ 
not,  in  tne  full  sense  of  the  term,  believe  in  them 
because  they  are  bidden.  The  whole  effect  of  the 
church’s  authority,  is  to  bring  the  minds  of  its 
people  into  contact  with  the  subject-matter  of 
Christianity ;  but,  for  the  proper  belief  of  Chris¬ 
tianity,  this  subject-matter  must  recommend  itself 
by  its  own  proper  evidence ;  it  must  manifest  its 
own  truth  to  the  consciences  of  those  who  are 
giving  earnest  heed  unto  it,  and  who  persevere  in 
this  earnestness  till  the  day  dawn  and  the  day- 
star  arise  in  their  hearts. 

10.  The  pupillage  of  a  well-ordered  country  un¬ 
der  the  influence  of  an  efficient  church,  is  the  same, 
in  all  the  essential  steps  of  it,  with  the  pupillage  of 
a  well-ordered  family  under  the  control  of  religious 
parents.  Neither  the  people  of  the  one,  nor  the 
children  of  the  other  believe  at  the  dictation  of 
their  superiors.  This  is  not  a  possible  thing _ nor 

VOL.  IV.  9 


HO  ON  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  FOB 

is  it  in  the  order  of  the  humaji  faculties ;  but  it  is 
quite  a  possible  and  a  frequent  thing,  that,  in  com¬ 
pliance  with  this  dictation,  they  should  make  dili¬ 
gent  use  of  their  Bibles,  and  so  that  their  minds  shall 
be  in  daily  converse  with  the  doctrines  and  infor¬ 
mations  of  the  sacred  record.  To  this  length  then, 
the  natural  authority  of  parents  in  a  family,  or  the 
acquired  authority  of  clergymen  in  the  church, 
might  bring  the  subjects  on  whom  -they  have 
respectively  to  operate — whether  they  be  the 
children  of  a  household,  or  the  population  of  a 
country  at  large.  They  may  have  been  conducted 
to  the  habit  both  of  going  to  church,  and  of  reading 
their  Bibles.  In  virtue  of  the  moral  suasion  which 
is  brought  to  bear  upon  them,  their  hearts  may 
have  been  solemnized ;  and  they  may  have  been 
led  to  a  serious,  and  respectful,  or  even  reverential 
entertainment  of  the  topics  which  are  addressed  to 
them.  But,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  their  con¬ 
viction,  these  topics  must  recommend  themselves. 
They  must  give  demonstration  of  their  own  reality; 
and  this  can  be  done  by  evidence  alone — at  length 
discovered  by  the  inquirer  as  the  fruit  of  his  assi¬ 
duous  perusals,  or  at  length  brought  home  to  him 
by  the  Spirit  in  answer  to  his  prayers. 

11.  Now  through  the  whole  of  this  process,  we 
can  perceive  nothing  but  the  right  and  the  rational 
.  in  any  of  its  footsteps ;  and  nothing  certainly, 
which  should  prevent  a  most  legitimate  and  well- 
grounded  conviction  at  the  last.  Unless  there  be 
a  glaring  evil  or  absurdity,  either  in  the  parental 
or  in  the  ecclesiastical  requisition,  there  might  be 
the  guilt  of  a  moral  hardihood — it,  either  a  child 


the  inspiration  of  scripture.  41  i 

in  the  one  case,  or  an  unlettered  peasant  in  the 
other,  shall  bid  reckless  defiance  to  it.  In  their 
incipient  state,  it  might  be  their  incumbent  obliga¬ 
tion  to  read  as  they  are  bidden — which,  for  aught 
they  know,  might  be  their  first  footstep  on  that 
path  which  leads  both  to  truth  and  to  duty. 
There  is  real  virtue  in  the  docility,  whether  of 
men  or  children,  to  those  superiors  whom  provi¬ 
dence  has  set  over  them ;  and  the  obligation,  in¬ 
stead  of  being  neutralized  by  the  obvious  wrong¬ 
ness  of  the  injunction,  may  in  fact  be  increased 
and  strengthened  by  the  obvious  rightness  of  it. 
When  bidden,  in  particular,  to  read  their  Bibles— 
this  book  might  not  only  have  a  verity  which  shall* 
be  fully  manifested  at  the  last,  but  a  verisimilitude 
palpable  to  the  eye  and  impressing  the  conscience 
of  the  observer,  even  on  the  first  and  earliest 
regards  which  he  casts  upon  it.  It  is  an  example 
of  the  moral  light  preceding  the  argumentative 
— of  that  call  on  the  attention  that  is  justified  by 
the  probabilities  of  a  subject,  which  comes  before 
that  demand  on  the  belief  that  is  only  justified  by 
the  sufficient  exhibition  of  its  proofs.  We  again 
appeal  to  those  characters  of  sacredness  and 
morality  and  truth,  which  sit  on  the  aspect  of  the 
Bible ;  and,  with  obviousness  enough  at  least,  to 
challenge  our  further  examination,  and  most  cer¬ 
tainly  to  condemn  our  summary  rejection  of  it.  We 
cannot  blame  either  the  child  or  the  peasant,  if, 
at  the  outset,  either  shall  refuse  to  us  their  faith ; 
but  both  are  most  worthy  of  blame,  if  they  refuse 
to  us  that  obedience  which  sets  them  on  the  way 
that  leads  to  faith.  In  short,  the  Christian  educa 


412  ON  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  FOR 

v 

tion  of  a  country,  when  conducted  in  the  spirit, 
and  according  to  the  methods  of  Protestantism,  is 
essentially  the  same  process  and  having  the  same 
footsteps  with  the  Christian  education  of  a  family. 
Both  are  liable  to  the  same  theoretical  objection 
on  the  principles  of  Rousseau  ;*  and  both  admit 
of  the  same  practical  and  the  same  philosophical 
vindication. 

12.  Now  apply  this  to  our  present  question. 
A  given  book  in  scripture  may  be  either  canonical 
and  inspired,  or  it  may  not.  If  the  former,  then 
this  inspiration  viewed  as  a  fact,  may  be  ascertained 
historically;  or  viewed  as  a  property,  may  be  ascer¬ 
tained  experimentally.  A  person  unlearned  may 
not  attempt  the  investigation  competent  only  to  a 
scholar;  hut,  depending  on  the  authority  of  his 
church,  proceeding  on  the  integrity  of  the  Bible  which 
is  in  his  hands,  and  told  that  all  is  inspired  and  all  is 
profitable,  he,  in  the  act  of  devoutly  reading  the 
part  of  the  Bible  in  question,  makes  the  trial — a 
competent  thing  to  every  humble  and  conscientious 
inquirer.  If  he  be  the  disciple  of  a  church  which 
admits  the  Book  of  Proverbs  into  its  canon  and  it 
be  right  in  so  doing,  he  will  taste  the  fruits  of  its 
actual  inspiration  in  its  moral  and  spiritual  effect 
upon  himself ;  and  this  perhaps  made  so  distinct, 
as  to  give  him  the  perception  of  its  celestial  origin. 
If  he  belong  to  a  church  which  admits  the  Book 
of  Wisdom  into  its  canon,  and  it  be  wrong  in  so 
doing,  the  consequence  is  that  in  the  reading  of  it 
he  loses  his  labour ;  he  is  misled  into  a  waste  of 

*  See  our  Natural  Theology. — Book  I.  Chap.  ii.  Art.  22. 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


413 


attention  and  effort  which  yields  him  no  fruit  unto 
life  everlasting.  He  may  still  acquiesce  in  the 
telling  of  his  church but  he  himself  has  no  personal 
manifestation  of  it.  But  though  what  is  counter¬ 
feit  in  his  Bible  may  he  useless  or  may  be  hurtful 
to  him,  yet  what  is  genuine  in  his  Bible  may  still 
have  made  him  wise  unto  salvation.  The  one 
like  wood,  hay,  and  stubble,  will  be  found  to  have 
been  of  no  profit ;  the  other  like  gold,  silver,  and 
precious  stones,  may  have  so  rewarded  the  search 
and  the  labour  after  saving  knowledge,  that  he 
himself  may  be  saved. 

13.  These  two  probations,  the  historical  and 
the  experimental,  coincide  in  their  result ;  yet  it 
is  of  the  utmost  importance  that,  between  them, 
there  shall  be  a  right  order  of  precedency.  We 
do  not  say  that  the  same  individual  should  always 
attempt  both ;  for,  if  he  be  unlearned,  he  is  capable 
only  of  one  of  these  methods.  It  is  not  for  him 
to  attempt  first  the  historical,  and  then  the  experi¬ 
mental  probation ;  but,  for  his  practical  guidance, 
it  seems  indispensable,  that  others  for  him 
should  have  made  the  historical,  and  then  that  he 
should  try  the  experimental  on  those  books  which 
they  have  put  into  his  hands.  The  experimental 
probation  might  verify  the  actually  inspired  books ; 
but  it  never  could  have  discovered  them.  Had 
there  been  no  history  and  no  tradition  regarding 
the  sixty-six  pieces  of  our  present  collection ;  and 
if,  instead  of  being  bound  up  in  one  volume  and 
handed  down  as  a  collection  of  Sacred  Writings, 
they  had  lain  scattered  throughout  the  multitudi¬ 
nous  authorship  of  the  world — then,  if  left  to  no 


414  ON  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  FOR 

other  test  than  the  quality  of  these  compositions, 
tve  never,  by  means  of  this  criterion  alone,  could 
have  made  our  way  to  them*  or  found  them  all 
out.  It  makes  all  the  difference  in  the  world, 
when  the  search  is  defined  and  limited  to  a  certain 
number  of  books  for  the  purpose  of  verification — . 
instead  of  our  being  cast  abroad  on  the  interminable 
sea  of  all  authorship  ;  and  there  left  to  our  own 
measures,  or  to  steer  as  we  may  for  the  purpose  of 
discovery.  The  question,  Are  these  inspired 
books? — is  a  truly  different  one  from  the  question, 
What  books  are  inspired  ?  To  satisfy  the  former 
question,  the  moral  and  experimental  probation 
might  be  altogether  competent — while  utterly  power¬ 
less  so  to  guide  the  inquirer,  as  that  he  shall  be 
able  to  cull  and  to  select  the  few  writings  which 
are  inspired,  out  of  the  mighty  and  numerous  host 
which  lie  around  him.  It  is  by  the  historical  pro¬ 
bation  that  we  discover  the  authorship  of  the  Bible 
and  of  all  its  parts — even  as  at  the  termination  of 
the  middle  ages,  we  discovered  the  authorship  of 
Homer  and  Virgil  and  Cicero.  It  is  by  the 
experimental  probation  that  we  verify  this  author¬ 
ship. 

14.  In  these  circumstances  we  must  perceive 
the  importance  of  a  Church,  as  an  institute  for  the 
secure  and  copious  transmission  of  the  records  of 
inspiration.  Even  though  in  centuries  of  corrup¬ 
tion  and  darkness,  the  use  of  or  demand  for  the 
scriptures  should  have  so  far  subsided,  as  that  all 
the  copies  of  them,  which,  in  better  times,  might 
have  been  found  throughout  the  habitations  of  the 
people,  had  either  been  destroyed  by  the  hand  of 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  415 

violence,  or  perished  by  their  own  natural  decay, _ 

the  same  causes  of  extermination  did  not  take  full 
effect  in  those  numerous  establishments,  which  had 
been  raised  for  the  maintenance  and  accommoda¬ 
tion  of  ecclesiastics,  by  the  piety  or  the  supersti¬ 
tion  of  other  times.  They  were  in  fact  the  monks 
and  men  of  various  sacred  orders  in  the  Christian 
church,  who  performed  the  same  service  in  behalf 
of  the  scriptures,  which,  under  the  old  dispensa¬ 
tion,  was  done  by  the  priests  and  Levites  of  Israel. 
It  is  true  that  they  partook  in  the  general  lethargy 
of  the  period ;  and  very  many  of  them  made  little 
or  no  use  of  their  sacred  records — yet  it  is  well 
that  these  found  an  asylum  in  the  bosom  of  con¬ 
vents  ;  and  were  suffered  to  lie,  though  perhaps 
to  lie  unread,  in  places  of  keeping,  respected 
even  through  the  days  of  fiercest  barbarism,  and 
where,  if  not  useful,  at  least  they  were  safe.  And 
we  know  that  light  and  learning  did  not  undergo  a 
total  extinction  among  the  ecclesiastics  of  Chris¬ 
tendom — insomuch  that  to  their  numerous  tran¬ 
scriptions,  we  mainly  stand  indebted,  both  for  those 
manifold  copies  of  the  Bible,  and  those  precious 
relics  of  ancient  literature,  to  which  the  mind  of 
Europe  awoke  at  the  commencement  of  the  middle 
ages.  It  is  thus  that  the  scriptures  were  piloted 
across  this  thick  and  dreary  millennium,  and  that 
with  hundred-fold  greater  certainty  and  abundance, 
than  .were  the  best  and  most  respected  classics  of 
Greece  and  Rome.  In  other  words,  at  the 
revival  of  learning,  the  learned  or  the  priesthood 
had  a  hundred-fold  better  materials  for  the  deter¬ 
mination  of  their  questions,  respecting  the  genuine- 


416  ON  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  FOR 

ness  and  authorship  of  the  sacred  writings — than 
the  learned  of  general  society  had,  for  the  genuine¬ 
ness  and  authorship  of  all  other  writings.  To  til's 
Jewish  and  the  Christian  churches  respectively, 
were  committed  the  oracles  of  God :  and  so 
adapted  were  both  institutes,  even  in  spite  of  the 
numerous  corruptions  into  which  they  fell,  for  the 
safe  custody  and  the  sure  transmission  of  them — • 
that,  greatly  beyond  all  the  other  memorials  of 
past  ages,  have  the  Old  Testament  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  New  Testament  on  the  other,  de¬ 
scended  on  a  firmer  historic  pathway  and  with  a  far 
surer  light  of  historical  evidence,  by  which  to 
identify  and  recognise  them. 

15.  Now  at  the  commencement  of  the  great 
disunion  which  took  place  in  Christendom,  when 
the  old  Papal  hierarchy  was  rent  asunder,  and 
new  Churches  sprung  into  existence — the  contro¬ 
versy  did  not  begin  with  the  unlearned  of  the 
people,  but  with  the  learned  of  the  priesthood. 
And  in  settling  the  public  articles  of  their  respec¬ 
tive  establishments,  more  especially  the  books 
which  they  should  receive  and  submit  to  as  the 
directory  of  their  faith,  they  were  the  facts  of 
history,  and  the  external  evidence  grounded  there¬ 
upon,  which  formed  the  proper  weapons  of  their 
warfare — as  much  so  indeed,  as  prophecy  and 
miracles  formed  the  great  means,  by  which  the 
Jewlth  and  Christian  dispensations  obtained,  their 
first  acceptance  in  the  world.  And,  in  determining 
between  genuine  and  apocrvphal  scriptures,  as 
*  f  between  those  works  of  Peter  by  which  though 
dead  he  vet  speaketh,  and  the  snurious  eomnnsi 

r  K  7  6  t 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


417 


ti  >ns  of  an  impostor,  they  had  to  proceed  on 
external  evidence,  even  the  evidence  of  testimony 
— j  lit  t  as  much  as  the  superiority  of  the  living 
Peter  over  Simon  Magus,  was  vindicated  by  the 
palpable  superiority  of  his  miracles,  or  by  an  exter¬ 
nal  evidence,  even  the  evidence  of  the  senses. 

•  The  fathers  of  Protestantism  in  the  work  of 
reforming  theology,  had  the  same  sort  of  evidence 
to  proceed  upon,  with  a  hundred  times  greater 
amount  and  certainty  thereof,  in  ascertaining,  both 
the  written  relics  and  the  actual  state  of  primitive 
Christianity- — that  the  great  parents  of  the  revival 
of  learning  had,  in  ascertaining  the  relics  and  the 
state  of  ancient  literature.  The  same  documen¬ 
tary  evidence  which  awoke  the  mind  of  Europe  to 
a  purer  literature,  also  awoke  it  to  a  purer  Chris¬ 
tianity,  and  what  the  discovery  of  a  Bible  did  to 
Luther,  that  great  restorer  of  a  better  theology, 
the  discovery  of  a  Virgil  may  perhaps  have  done 
to  some  restorer  of  a  better  learning.  An  impulse 
no  doubt  may  have  been  given  to  each  from  the 
subject  matter  of  their  respective  volumes,  from 
the  elevated  doctrine  of  the  one,  from  the  noble 
and  graceful  poetry  of, the  other;  but  the  proper 
track  of  investigation  to  which  it  carried  them  both, 
in  their  search,  whether  after  the  sacred  or  the 
secular  compositions  of  other  days,  was  altogether 
an  historical  one.  This,  more  particularly,  was 
the  right  and  proper  ground  for  the  founders  of 
the  Reformation  to  travel  on — in  determining 
between  the  genuine  and  the  counterfeit,  on  the 
great  question  which  be  the  oracles  of  God.  In 
the  settlement  of  this,  it  was  with  the  manuscripts 

s  2 


418  ON  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  FOR 

and  memorials  of  other  times  that  they  had  pro¬ 
perly  to  do,  which  had  been  preserved  from  the 
wreck  of  ages,  and  which  Providence  had  put  into 
their  hands.  The  controversy  was  held  in  an 
upper  region.  The  decision,  in  the  first  instance 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  learned ;  and  it  was  for 
them,  on  the  foundation  too  of  an  historical  evi¬ 
dence,  to  fix  the  canon  of  scripture,  or  to  tell  the 
church  at  large  which  be  the  genuine  scriptures 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament.  They,  by  means 
of  the  historical  probation,  made  discovery  of  these ; 
and  it  was  left  for  the  people,  by  means  of  the 
experimental  probation,  to  make  verification  of 
them.  Calvin  antedated  the  matter  wrong,  when, 
in  his  controversy  with  the  learned  of  the  church  of 
Rome  in  behalf  of  the  scriptures,  he  made  appeal  to 
that  internal  evidence  which  is  felt  and  appreciated 
by  the  unlearned — at  the  time  when,,  fighting  his 
adversaries  with  their  own  weapons,  he  should 
have  urged  the  argument  critically  and  historically. 
He  has  charged  it  as  preposterous,  to  plead  this 
argument  distinct  from  the  internal  evidence. 
But  we  should  reverse  the  proposition,  and  call  it 
preposterous  in  this  matter,  to  place  the  internal 
before  the  external  evidence.*  In  the  Christian¬ 
ization  of  individuals,  the  experimental  probation 
is  the  only  one  resorted  to,  and  the  only  one  real- 

*  Paul  cautions  the  churches  against  counterfeit  epistles  as 
from  him  ;  and,  to  distinguish  his  own  genuine  ones  from  these, 
he  set  a  particular  mark  on  them.  (2  Thess.  ii.  2,  and  iii.  17.) 
It  is  a  felicitous  remark  of  Jones,  “  If  it  be,  as  Calvin  says,  pre¬ 
posterous  to  endeavour  by  any  solid  argument  to  beget  a  solid 
credit  to  the  scriptures,  distinct  from  their  internal  evidence, 
then  it  was  certainly  preposterous  in  St.  Paul  to  add  that  mark  to 
his  epistles,  as  an  evidence  they  were  his.-’ 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


419 


^ed  by  the  great  majority  of  the  household  of 
aith.  But  in  laying  the  foundations  of  a  Chris¬ 
tian  church,  and  in  rearing  the  munitions  of  its 
external  security — the  historical  probation  must 
be  resorted  to.  They  who  “walk  about  Zion, 
and  go  round  about  her,  telling  the  towers  thereof, 
and  marking  well  her  bulwarks,”  speak  to  us 
chiefly  of  the  historical  or  external  evidence  that 
leads  to  the  determination  of  the  scriptures.  They 
again  who  consider  and  devise  for  the  interior 
culture  of  her  vineyard,  for  the  work  of  her  parishes, 
and  the  religion  of  her  people,  speak  to  us  chiefly 
of  that  internal  and  experimental  evidence,  that 
finds  development  and  effect  in  their  afterward 
reading  of  the  scriptures  which  have  been  put  into 
their  hands.  By  this  process,  the  historical  pro¬ 
bation  takes  the  precedency ;  the  experimental 
follows  it.  It  is  the  combination  of  these  which 
forms  the  strength  and  the  glory  of  Protestantism. 
By  the  first  of  them  is  made  the  glorious  dis¬ 
covery  of  books,  which,  seen  in  the  lights  of  eru¬ 
dition,  shine  upon  us  with  evidence  of  a  hundred¬ 
fold  greater  splendour,  than  all  the  other  literature 
and  history  of  ancient  times.  By  the  second  of 
them,  the  books  thus  presented  to  the  church, 
when  left  to  do  their  own  proper  work  on  the  con¬ 
sciences  of  men,  when  their  lessons  are  devoutly 
studied  by  the  people  and  pressed  home  with 
unction  and  energy  by  an  efficient  clergy  from  the 
pulpits — then,  in  the  Christian  wisdom  and  moral 
superiority  of  a  well-trained  peasantry,  the  glorious 
discovery  is  followed  up  by  a  still  more  glorious 
verification. 


42)  ON  TIIK  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  FOR 

16.  In  some  books  of  scripture,  the  internal 
evidence  may  lie  deeper  beneath  the  surface  than 
in  others — when  a  more  frequent  and  thorough 
digging  wiH  be  requisite,  to  obtain  discovery  of 
the  hidden  treasure— the  fruit  of  assiduous  peru¬ 
sals,  and  earnest  prayers.  At  the  first  and  super¬ 
ficial  aspect,  there  seems  little  or  no  difference 
between  the  Book  of  Wisdom  and  the  Book  of 
Proverbs— so  that  it  is  not  at  one  glance  only,  that 
we  can  perceive  the  human  quality  of  the  one,  the 
divine  quality  of  the  other.  Yet  however  little 
distinguishable  at  once  in  respect  of  their  internal, 
there  are  no  books  more  distinguished  from  each 
*  other  in  respect  of  their  external  evidence.  It  is 
a  striking  remark  of  Michaelis  that  £<  the  canonical 
authority  of  no  part  of  the  Old  Testament  is  so 
ratified  by  the  evidence  of  quotations,  as  the  Book 
of  Proverbs ;  but  it  is  remarkable  that  the  Wisdom 
of  Je'sus  the  son  of  Sirach,  which  has  so  striking 
an  affinity  with  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  is  not  quoted 
in  a  single  instance  by  apostles  and  evangelists ; 
and  the  difference  between  canonical  and  apocry¬ 
phal  is  nowhere  so  strikingly  marked,  as  in  this 
example.”*  The  right  order  of  procedure  then  in 
regard  to  this  book  is,  that,  ascertained  to  be 
scripture  by  the  learned,  it  was  given  as  such  by 
them  to  the  unlearned — many  of  whom,  in  the 
course  of  their  patient  and  devout  reading,  would 
find  a  mine  of  sacred  truth  in  the  one  composition, 
which  they  never  could  have  found  in  the  other. 
And  whether  or  not  they  have  formally  recognized 


•  Marsh’s  Michaelis.  4th  Ed.  Vol  I.  p.  207,  208. 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  421 

it  from  its  internal  character  to  be  the  handiwork 
of  God — the  Book  of  Proverbs  has  been  a  foun¬ 
tain  of  high  and  heavenly  wisdom  to  the  Christian 
peasant,  who,  in  many  instances,  has  attained  to 
the  relish  and  often  to  the  perception  of  its  sacred¬ 
ness. 

17.  Had  the  respective  functions  and  relative 
places  of  the  external  and  internal  evidence  been 
sufficiently  pondered  by  Dr.  Pie  Smith,*  he  would 
not  have  fallen  into  the  error  that  he  has  commit¬ 
ted,  when,  asserting  the  non-inspiration  of  the  Song 
of  Solomon — and  that  too,  in  the  face  of  the  strong 
external  evidence  which  it  possesses  in  common 
with  all  the  other  scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament. 
It  is  preposterous  to  put  the  internal  before  the 
externalm  this  question.  If  he  have  ventured  too 
much,  who  pronounces  by  internal  evidence  alone, 
and  in  the  absence  of  the  external,  on  the  divinity 
of  the  Book  of  Wisdom — he  surely  adventures 
too  much,  and  at  a  still  more  fearful  hazard,  who, 
in  the  abundance  of  its  external  evidence,  would 
pronounce  on  the  humanity  of  the  Song  of  Solo¬ 
mon.  A  summary  approval  in  the  one  case  is 
surely  not  more  premature,  than  a  summary  re¬ 
jection  in  the  other.  In  neither  instance  is  the  hea¬ 
venly  or  the  earthly  parentage  sufficiently  obvious, 
in  looking  merely  to  the  books  themselves,  to  pre¬ 
clude  the  consideration  of  the  external  evidence  ; 
or  to  strip  that  evidence  of  hs  prerogative  and 
rightful  power,  for  the  determination  of  the  ques¬ 
tion.  It  would  bespeak,  we  think,  not  only  a 
•• 

•  See  his  exposition,  among  the  very  best  we  have  of  hi* 
scripture  evidences  for  the  divinity  of  Christ. 


422  ON  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  FOR 

more  pious  but  a  more  philosophic  docility,  to 
leave  that  book  in  undisturbed  possession  of  the 
place  which  it  now  enjoys — where  it  might  minister 
as  in  ages  heretofore  to  the  saintly  and  seraphic 
contemplations  of  the  advanced  Christian,  who 
discovers  that  in  this  poem  a  greater  than  Solomon 
is  here,  whose  name  to  him  is  as  ointment  poured 
forth,  and  who  while  he  luxuriates  with  spiritual 
satisfaction  over  pages  that  the  world  has  un¬ 
hallowed,  breathes  of  the  ethereal  purity  of  the 
third  heavens  as  well  as  their  ethereal  fervour. 

18.  There  are  various  analogies,  by  which  the 
process  that  actually  takes  place,  and  as  we  have 
now  explained  it,  for  the  Christian  education  of  a 
people,  might  be  both  illustrated  and  vindicated. 
They  do  certain  things  at  the  telling  ot  others; 
and,  in  virtue  of  so  doing,  they  are  made  to  behold 
certain  truths,  not  with  the  eyes  of  others,  but 
with  their  own  eyes.  From  between  what  they 
take  on  trust,  and  what  they  are  made  in  conse¬ 
quence  to  see  for  themselves,  a  right  and  rational 
belief  emerges  at  the  last. 

1*>.  On  the  authority  of  an  almanac,  all  men 
expect  with  confidence  the  next  coming  eclipse. 
Whatever  might  be  said  of  the  philosophy  of  this 
general  expectation,  it  is  universally  felt  by  us, 
that,  not  to  share  in  it,  would  argue,  not  a  sound¬ 
ness,  but  a  perversity  of  intellect.  At  all  events, 
the  greater  part  of  men  look  for  the  predicted 
event  as  they  have  been  told ;  and,  in  the  act  of 
looking  to  it,  they  obtain  a  demonstration  of  its 
reality  at  first  hand.  As  they  have  heard  so  they 
have  seen.  What  the  learned  could  predict  by 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  423 

• 

one  medium  of  proof,  they,  the  unlearned,  can  now 
perceive  by  another  medium  of  proof :  and,  in  like 
manner,  what  the  learned  on  the  authority  of  one 
medium  of  proof,  even  the  external  evidence,  pro¬ 
nounce  to  be  scripture  and  of  divine  origin — the 
unlearned,  by  another  medium  of  proof,  might  at 
length  believe  on  the  authority  of  their  own  obser¬ 
vation.  When  once  the  manifestations  of  the 
internal  evidence  have  taken  effect  on  them,  they 
might  say  with  the  Psalmist  of  old,  “  as  we  have 
heard  so  have  we  seen  in  the  city  of  our  God.”* 
20.  There  are  very  many  who  believe  in  the 
facts  and  objects  of  Astronomy,  yet  without  any 
other  evidence  for  them,  than  the  testimony  of 
scholars  and  scientific  men.  If  told  to  go  to  an 
observatory,  and,  by  means  of  the  instruments 
there,  to  view  the  ring  of  Saturn  or  the  satellites 
of  Jupiter  for  themselves — there  may  be  certain 
hypercritics,  of  kindred  disposition  with  those  who 
sustain  the  cause  of  our  modern  infidelity,  and 
who  might  contend  that  ere  they  attained  a  war¬ 
rantable  belief  in  the  reality  of  these  objects,  they 
must  attain  a  scientific  acquaintance  with  the 
medium  of  proof  through  which  they  are  beheld. 
It  might  be  easily  shewn,  however,  that,  without 
having  mastered  a  single  demonstration  in  optics, 
one  might  acquire,  and  on  the  very  principles 
which  enter  into  the  education  of  the  senses,  the 
same  confidence  in  the  intimations  of  the  tele¬ 
scope,  that  he  has  in  the  intimations  of  the  eye. 
So  that  he  who  went  to  an  observatory  at  the 


Ps.  xlviii.  8. 


424  ON  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  FOR 

bidding  of  a  friend,  discovered  for  himself  what  he 
had  previously  been  told  of  by  others ;  and  he 
who  at  the  bidding  of  a  parent  or  a  minister, 
makes  a  Bible  the  object  of  his  daily  repair  and 
daily  exercise,  may  at  length  find,  that  what  before 
was  only  probable  on  the  likelihood  of  another’s 
testimony,  is  now  palpable  to  his  own  vision. 

21.  We  have  long  thought  that  in  the  education 
of  artists,  there  is  a  beautiful  and  effective  illustra¬ 
tion  of  the  same  process — an  actual  experience  of 
the  most  eminent  in  that  department,  admitted  by 
many  of  them  as  a  fact,  though  we  have  not  yet 
met  with  an  adequate  or  philosophical  explanation 
of  it  in  any  of  their  writings.  What  we  advert  to 
is  the  difficulty,  which  a  young  practitioner  or 
student  of  painting  would  find,  if,  placed  amid  a 
large  and  indiscriminate  collection  of  pictures,  he 
was  left  to  discover  the  works  of  the  best  masters 
for  himself ;  and  how  much  it  expedites  the  forma¬ 
tion  both  of  his  judgment  and  his  taste,  to  be  told 
of  them  beforehand,  so  as  that  he  might  limit  his 
contemplations  or  his  studies,  to  the  specimens 
of  first-rate  excellence  which  have  been  pointed 
out  to  him.  The  merits  which  he  could  not  per- 
haps  have  discovered  through  a  whole  lifetime,  he 
will,  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  come  to  discern. 
He  at  length  shares  in  the  general  taste  and  feel¬ 
ing  of  the  connoisseurs,  and  that,  not  at  the  bid¬ 
ding  or  on  the  authority  of  others,  but  with  a  just 
and  well-grounded  perception  of  his  own.  It  is 
most  instructive  to  mark  the  respective  parts, 
which  the  external  and  internal  evidence  have  in 
this  process ;  and  how,  by  acting  at  first  at 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  425 

bidding  or  on  the  testimony  of  his  informers,  when 
they  told  him  which  the  works  were  of  Raphael  and 
Rubens  and  Vandyke  and  Titian — he  is  landed  in¬ 
calculably  sooner  than  if  he  had  been  abandoned  to 
himself,  not  in  a  factitious,  but  in  an  honest  and  well- 
grounded  admiration  of  their  respective  beauties.* 
Now  all  we  affirm  is,  that  what  has  been  found 
experimentally,  both  to  originate  and  to  expedite 
the  solid  education  of  an  artist,  might  originate  and 
expedite  too  the  solid  education  of  a  Christian. 
If  the  former  is  better  of  being  told  beforehand, 
what  the  works  are  which  men  of  a  heaven-born 


See  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds’  Discourses,  in  three  volumes— 

Second  Edition.  London,  1798.  We  more  particularly  refer 

to  his  own  narrative  of  his  own  experience  given  in  p.  xiv,  &c. 

in  the  account  of  his  life  prefixed  to  his  works.  In  his  Second 

Discourse,  volume  i.  p.  S8,  he  gives  this  advice  to  young  artists 

— “  With  respect  to  the  pictures  that  you  are  to  choose  for  your 

models,  I  could  wish  that  you  would  take  the  world’s  opinion 

rather  than  your  own.  In  other  words,  I  would  have  you  choose 

those  of  established  reputation,  rather  than  follow  your  own 

fancy.  If  you  should  not  admire  them  at  first,  you  will,  by 

endeavouring  to  imitate  them,  find  that  the  world  has  not  been 

mistaken.”  In  his  twelfth  discourse,  volume  ii.  p.  95,  he  observes 

that,  “  the  habit  of  contemplating  and  brooding  over  the  ideas  of 

great  geniuses,  till  you  find  yourself  warmed  by  the  contact,  is 

the  true  method  of  forming  an  artist- like  mind  ;  it  is  impossible, 

in  the  presence  of  those  great  men,  to  think  or  invent  in  a  mean 

manner  ;  a  state  of  mind  is  acquired  that  receives  those  ideas 

only  which  relish  of  grandeur  and  simplicity.”  Harris,  the  pro- 

•  found  and  philosophical  author  of  Hermes,  goes  so  far  as  to 

recommend,  that  we  should  “even  feign  a  relish,  till  we  find  a 

relish  come,  and  feel,  that  what  began  in  fiction  terminates  in 

reality.” 

* 

If  these  things  (and  for  ourselves  we  have  no  doubt  of  it)  be 
in  the  order,  and  according  to  the  real  working  of  the  human 
faculties — who  does  not  see,  that  the  actual  Christian  education 
both  of  families  and  nations,  in  every  Protestant  land  where  the 
scriptures  are  freely  and  fully  taught,  argumented  by  the  learned 
and  read  by  the  unlearned,  is  of  efficacy  for  the  diffusion  among 
all  classes  of  a  rational  and  rightly-grounded  faith  ? 


426 


ON  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  FOK 


genius  have  executed — the  latter  is  better  of  being 
told  in  like  manner,  what  the  books  are  which 
prophets  and  apostles  under  the  guidance  of 
heavenly  inspiration  have  written.  It  is  by  an 
external  evidence,  that  the  knowledge  of  both 
sorts  of  productions  is  transmitted  from  genera¬ 
tion  to  generation ;  but  it  is  by  an  internal  evidence 
that  the  disciples  of  each  generation  are  formed — 
whether  in  the  schools  of  art,  or  in  the  schools  of 
religion.  There  is  no  overbearing  of  the  human 
faculties,  no  prostration  of  mind  to  authority  or  to 
the  mandates  of  an  earthly  superior — in  either  of 
the  processes.  All  that  authority  does  is,  not  to 
bid  us  believe ;  but  to  bid  us  attend  and  to  point 
out  the  objects  of  attention.  It  is  well  that,  in 
virtue  of  so  many  authentic  collections,  there  is  an 
external  evidence  by  which  we  are  enabled  to 
point  out  rightly,  what  may  be  termed  the  canoni¬ 
cal  pictures  of  other  days.  And  it  is  in  every 
way  as  well,  that,  in  virtue  of  so  many  Churches  in 
Christendom,  each  in  itself  a  vast  repository  o. 
ecclesiastical  documents,  we  have  a  most  abundant 
external  evidence — by  which  we  are  enabled  to 
point  out  rightly  the  canonical,  and  to  distinguish 
them  from  the  apocryphal  scriptures  of  other  days. 
It  is  not,  however,  by  force  of  the  external  but  of 
the  internal  evidence,  that  the  enamoured  artist 
kindles  into  admiration  of  the  great  examples  which 
are  set  before  him. — Neither  is  it  by  force  of  the 
external  but  of  the  internal  evidence,  that  the 
Christian  peasant  kindles  into  admiration,  and  his 
heart  burns  within  him  when  the  great  examples 
End  lessons  of  the  sa  -red  record  are  opened  to  his 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  427 

ievv.  Neither  may  have  even  so  much  as  thought 
of  the  historical  evidence,  for  the  authenticity  of 
the  works  studied  by  the  one  with  the  devoutness 
of  an  amateur ;  of  the  writings  studied  by  the 
other  with  the  devoutness  of  a  religionist.  Both 
may  be  genuine  and  well-founded  disciples  of  their 
respective  schools  notwithstanding.  And  thus  it 
is  that  our  Bible,  our  wrell  argued  and  well  authen¬ 
ticated  Bible,  has  proved  an  instrument  for  the 
solid  education  of  millions  who  are  strangers  to 
every  external  argument  on  which  the  authenticity 
of  the  whole  and  of  all  its  parts  is  vindicated.  Of 
the  outward  credentials  for  the  book  they  know 
nothing.  They  are  the  contents  within  the  bock, 
to  which  we  stand  indebted  for  all  the  faith,  and 
that  not  a  superstitious  but  an  enlightened  faith, 
that  exists  in  Christendom.  It  is  to  the  reading 
of  the  Bible  that  we  owe  this  result — as  put  into 
the  hands  of  children  by  the  fathers  of  families ; 
or  circulated,  under  the  auspices  of  its  Church, 
among  the  people  of  a  kingdom. 

22.  Before  bringing  this  subject  to  a  close,  we 
would  remark  the  verisimilitude  that  sits  on  the 
canonical  scriptures,  and  constitutes  a  prima  facAe 
distinction  between  them,  and  all  the  other  religious 
compositions  of  the  age  and  country  in  which  they 
were  written — we  mean  their  freedom  from  a 
certain  legendary  character,  and  a  certain  untaste¬ 
ful  extravagance,  that  is  more  or  less  to  be  detected 
in  the  Apocrypha ;  but  which  we  think  is  most 
noticeable  of  all,  when  we  make  the  transition 
f;  ora  the  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  to  the 
vi  rv  earliest  of  the  uncanonical  writers  on  the  side 


428 


ON  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  FOR 


of  Christianity.  Take  for  an  example  the  epistle 
of  Clement  when  he  argues,  or,  at  least,  tries  to 
illustrate  the  doctrine  of  a  resurrection  from  the 
story  of  the  phoenix.  No  one  but  must  have  felt 
the  utter  incongruity  of  such  a  passage,  if  thrust 
into  the  middle  of  any  argument  whatever  in  the 
New  Testament,  on  the  subject  of  the  resurrec¬ 
tion.  Conceive  it,  for  example,  subjoined  to  the 
xvth  chapter  of  1st  Corinthians,  or  to  the  ivth 
chapter  of  the  second  epistle ;  and  what  a  motley 
juxtaposition  would  have  been  produced  by  it. 
And  the  contrast  is  not  confined  to  particular  pas¬ 
sages  ;  for,  throughout  and  in  general  character, 
there  is  an  obvious  and  sustained  dissimilarity — . 
a  sense  and  a  dignity  and  an  appropriateness  in 
the  one ;  and  in  the  other,  save  when  there  is  a 
copious  intermixture  of  scripture  quotation,  or 
when  the  devoted  piety  breaks  forth  into  an  eleva¬ 
tion  and  an  earnestness  which  overshadows  all  the 
accompaniments,  there  is  an  extravagance  and  a 
weakness  and  a  fanciful  style  both  of  illustration 
and  argument,  which  makes  us  feel  that  we  have 
got  into  the  hands  of  very  illiterate  or  very  un¬ 
practised  authors. 

23.  Now,  to  understand  how  this  should  be, 
we  must  consider  that  Christianity  is  responsible 
only  for  its  own  proper  work  on  the  affections  and 
the  principles  of  those,  over  whom  it  hath  obtained 
a  practical  ascendancy.  By  means  of  certain  great 
truths  which  it  impresses  on  the  belief  and  under¬ 
standing  of  man,  it  exerts  an  influence  upon  his 
heart  and  upon  his  history  ;  and  the  supreme  love 
of  God,  along  with  the  love  of  his  neighbour, 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  4 '20 

become  the  prevailing  characteristics  of  him  who 
before  was  a  selfish  and  ungodly  creature.  But 
while  it  thus  revolutionizes  the  spiritual  part,  it 
may  leave  the  natural  economy  of  the  taste  and 
the  intellect  untouched.  Abstracting  from  the 
moral  change,  it  may  no  more  alter  the  com¬ 
plexion  of  his  mind,  than  it  alters  the  complexion 
ol  his  face ;  and  just  as  the  person  and  the  features 
and  habitudes  of  walk  or  gesture  may  remain  what 
they  were  before,  so  also  may  the  mental  peculi¬ 
arities  of  his  constitution  remain  unaffected — even 
after  Christianity,  with  all  its  subduing  power 
over  the  will  and  the  conduct,  has  been  grafted 
upon  the  inner  man. 

24.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  imagine,  that 
Christianity,  by  taking  the  full  possession  and 
power  over  a  number  of  men,  overbears  all  the 
complexional  varieties  of  character  which  formerly 
obtained  between  them.  If  there  be  any  founda¬ 
tion  for  supposing  that  there  is  a  reality  in  national 
distinctions  of  character,  a  thing  of  which  we  our¬ 
selves  have  no  doubt — then  a  Christian  Irishman 
is  just  as  distinguishable  from  a  Christian  Scotch¬ 
man,  as  they  were  previous  to  the  accession  of 
this  ingredient.  And  what  is  true  of  the  national, 
is  just  as  true  of  many  of  the  natural  distinctions 
between  men.  Christianity  does  not  obliterate 
the  variety  of  tastes  and  temperaments  among 
men.  In  the  New  Testament  this  dramatic 
variety  is  exhibited,  and  a  dramatic  propriety  is 
observed — so  that  the  zeal  of  Peter,  the  argumen¬ 
tative  vehemence  of  Paul,  the  tenderness  of  John, 
all  shine  forth  either  in  their  history  or  their  writ- 


430  ON  THE  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  FOR 

mgs — insomuch  that  if  the  whole  earth  were 
brought  under  a  Christian  economy,  we  are  nor; 
therefore  to  imagine,  that  all  the  phases  of  human¬ 
ity  would  thereby  be  assimilated  into  one  mono¬ 
tonous  uniformity  of  aspect ;  or  that  human  society 
would  not  be  enlivened  by  as  great  and  as  graphic 
a  variety  as  before. 

25.  Now  what  is  true  of  the  constitutional  dif¬ 
ferences  which  nature  has  established  between  one 
man  and  another,  is  just  as  true  of  the  artificial  dif¬ 
ferences  which  civilization  and  learning  have  estab¬ 
lished  between  one  man  or  between  one  age  ana 
another,  It  is  thus  that  in  our  more  polished  day, 
we  look  back  to  our  ruder,  yet  not  on  that  account 
our  less  religious  forefathers  ;  and  marvel,  both  at 
what  we  should  feel  the  offensive  indecorum  o* 
their  behaviour,  and  the  offensive  crudities  of  their 
authorship.  A  bishop,  in  the  present  day,  stands 
in  as  much  need  of  being  put  upon  his  guard 
against  the  heart-burnings  and  the  jealousies  of 
evil  affection,  as  in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity. 
Only  then  they  carried  the  matter  a  little  farther 
out ;  and  so  the  apostle,  in  enumerating  the  in¬ 
cumbent  gravities  and  proprieties  of  a  bishop,  had 
to  say  among  other  things  that  he  must  be  “no 
striker.”  The  same  principle  will  account  for 
what  to  us  appears  a  flagrant  breach  of  all  decency, 
which  the  Corinthians  fell  into,  when  assembled 
at  the  table  of  the  Lord.  And  in  short,  we  mistake 
the  matter  entirely,  we  misapprehend  the  proper 
fruit  and  function  of  Christianity,  we  are  not  dis¬ 
tinguishing  the  things  which  differ — if  we  expect, 
that,  because  the  religion  of  the  gospel  has  taken 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  43i 

j^werful  hold  of  the  consciences  of  men  in  a  bar¬ 
barous  age,  that  therefore  all  the  vestiges  of  bar¬ 
barism  are  forthwith  to  be  obliterated. 

26.  But  our  present  concern  is  with  the  con 
ceitsand  the  crudities  and  the  puerile  extrava 
gancies  of  an  untasteful  and  unlettered  age.  Now 
it  is  no  more  the  proper  immediate  effect  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  to  teach  men  good  taste,  than  it  is  to  teacn 
them  good  orthography.  Every  gross  violation  ol 
morality  will  of  course  be  abandoned  by  them  • 
but,  should  they  have  occasion  to  be  writers,  there 
may  still  be  the  grossest  violation  of  all  the  pro¬ 
prieties  m  belles  lettres.  If  childishness  and  cre¬ 
dulity  and  bad  taste  were  their  characteristics 
before  the  change,  they  might  still  remain  their 
characteristics  after  it;  and,  without  any  imputa¬ 
tion  either  on  the  worth  of  their  principles,  or  on 
their  competency  as  witnesses  to  the  palpable  facts 
that  are  transacted  before  their  eyes — they  might, 
if  not  kept  in  check  by  a  supernatural  power,  fall 
into  manifold  errors  both  of  false  argument  and  of 
false  illustration.  Clement’s  bird  of  Arabia  we 
hold  to  be  a  notable  example  of  this ;  and  when  one 
compares,  either  with  his  epistle  or  with  the  works 
of  any  of  the  apostolic  fathers,  the  compositions  of 
the  fishermen  of  Galilee  ;  when  one  recognises  the 
chaste  and  graceful  propriety  of  the  latter — how 
pertinent  throughout,  and  as  predominant  in  sense 
as  in  sacredness — how  free  of  all  that  is  irrelevant 
or  absurd  or  in  consequential — how  unstained  by 
any  gratuitous  felly  or  flight  of  extravagance — and 
yet  how  certain,  that,  if  left  to  themselves,  they 
would,  like  their  immediate  successors  in  the 


432 


ON  THE  SUPREME 


church,  have  betrayed  the  waywardness  of  un 
practised  infancy  at  that  work  of  authorship,  in 
which  they  were  but  infants — one  cannot  but 
feel  that  they  wrote  under  some  powerful  hold 
which  at  once  guided  and  restrained  them ;  and 
that,  in  the  simplicity  and  purity  and  orderly  keep¬ 
ing  of  all  the  parts  in  that  venerable  record,  we 
have  an  internal  evidence  of  as  broad  a  distinction 
between  the  canonical  and  the  uncanonical,  as 
either  the  authority  of  the  church  or  the  innumer¬ 
able  written  testimonies  of  the  Christian  fathers 
would  serve  to  establish. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

On  the  Supreme  Authority  of  Revelation, 

1.  If  the  New  Testament  be  a  message  from  God, 
it  behoves  us  to  make  an  entire  and  unconditional 
surrender  of  our  minds,  to  all  the  duty  and  to.  all 
the  information  which  it  sets  before  us. 

2.  There  is,  perhaps,  nothing  more  thoroughly 
beyond  the  cognisance  of  the  human  faculties,  than 
the  truths  of  religion,  and  the  ways  of  that  mighty 
and  invisible  Being,  who  is  the  object  of  it ;  and 
yet  nothing,  we  will  venture  to  say,  has  been  made 
the  subject  of  more  hardy  and  adventurous  specu¬ 
lation.  We  make  no  allusion  at  present  to  Deists, 
who  reject  the  authority  of  the  New  Testament, 
because  the  plan  or  the  dispensation  of  the  Al¬ 
mighty,  which  is  recorded  there,  is  different  fr®m 


AUTHORITY  OB  REVELATION.  4J3 

ttiat  picin  01  dispensation  which  they  have  chosen 
to  ascribe  to  Him.  We  speak  of  Christians,  who 
profess  to  admit  the  authority  of  this  record,  but 
who  have  tainted  the  purity  of  their  profession  by 
not  acting  when  they  ought  upon  its  exclusive 
authority ;  who  have  mingled  their  own  thoughts, 
and  their  own  fancy  with  its  informations ;  who, 
instead  of  repairing  even  in  those  questions  of 
which  revelation  should  have  the  entire  monopoly, 
to  the  principle  of  “what  readest  thou?”  have 
abridged  the  sovereignty  of  this  principle,  by  ap¬ 
pealing  to  others,  which  are  utterly  incompetent, 
as  the  reason  of  the  thing,  or  the  standard  of 
orthodoxy ;  and  so  have  brought  down  the  Bible 
from  the  high  place  which  belongs  to  it,  as  the 
only  tribunal  to  which  in  all  matters  beyond  the 
cognisance  of  the  human  faculties  the  appeal  should 
be  made,  or  from  which  the  decision  should  be 
looked  for. 

3.  But  it  is  not  merely  among  partisans  or  the 
advocates  of  a  system,  that  we  meet  with  this 
indifference  to  the  authority  of  what  is  written. 
It  lies  at  the  bottom  of  a  great  deal  of  that  loose¬ 
ness,  both  in  practice  and  speculation,  which  we 
meet  with  every  day  in  society,  and  which  we  often 
near  expressed  in  familiar  conversation.  Whence 
that  list  of  maxims  which  are  so  indolently  con¬ 
ceived,  but  which,  at  the  same  time,  are  so  faith¬ 
fully  proceeded  upon?  “  WTe  have  all  our  pas¬ 
sions  and  infirmities ;  but  we  have  honest  hearts, 
and  that  will  make  up  for  them.  Men  are  not  all 
cast  in  the  same  mould.  God  will  not  call  us  to 
task  too  rigidly  for  our  foibles ;  at  least  this  is  our 

VOL.  IV.  TP 


434 


ON  THE  SUPREME 


opinion ;  and  God  can  never  be  so  unmerciful,  or 
so  unjust,  as  bring  us  to  a  severe  and  unforgiving 
tribunal  for  the  mistakes  of  the  understanding.” 
Now,  it  is  not  licentiousness  in  general,  which  we 
are  speaking  against.  It  is  against  that  sanction 
which  it  appears  to  derive  from  the  sell-formed 
maxims  of  him  who  is  guilty  of  it.  It  is  against 
the  principle,  that  either  an  error  of  doctrine,  or 
an  indulgence  of  passion,  is  to  be  exempted  from 
condemnation,  because  it  has  an  opinion  of  the 
mind  to  give  it  countenance  and  authority.  What 
we  complain  ol  is,  that  a  man  no  sooner  sets  him¬ 
self  forward  and  says,  44  This  is  my  sentiment,” 
than  he  conceives  that  all  culpability  is  taken  away 
from  the  error,  either  of  practice  or  speculation, 
into  which  he  has  fallen.  The  carelessness  with 
which  the  opinion  has  been  formed,  is  of  no  account 
in  the  estimate.  It  is  the  mere  existence  of  the 
opinion,  which  is  pleaded  in  vindication ;  and, 
under  the  authority  of  our  maxim ,  and  our  mode 
of  thinking ,  every  man  conceives  himself  to  have 
a  right  to  his  own  way  and  his  own  peculiarity. 

4.  Now  this  might  be  all  very  fair,  were  there 
no  Bible  and  no  revelation  in  existence.  But  it  is 
not  fair,  that  all  this  looseness,  and  all  this  variety, 
should  be  still  floating  in  the  world,  in  the  face  of 
an  authoritative  communication  from  God  himself. 
Had  no  message  come  to  us  from  the  fountain-head 
of  truth,  it  were  natural  enough  for  every  indivi¬ 
dual  mind  to  betake  itself  to  its  own  speculation. 
But  a  message  has  come  to  us,  bearing  on  its 
forehead  every  character  of  authenticity  ;  and  is  it 
right  now,  that  the  question  of  our  faith,  or  of  our 


AUTHORITY  OF  REVELATION.  435 

duty,  should  be  committed  to  the  capricious  varia¬ 
tions  of  this  man’s  taste,  or  of  that  man’s  fancy  ? 
Our  maxim,  and  our  sentiment !  God  has  put  an 
authoritative  stop  to  all  this.  He  has  spoken; 
and  tfie  right  or  the  liberty  of  speculation  no  longer 
remains  to  us.  The  question  now  is,  not  “  What 
thinkest  thou  ?”  In  the  days  of  Pagan  antiquity, 
no  other  question  could  be  put-;  and  the  wretched 
delusions  and  idolatries  of  that  period  let  us  see 
what  kind  of  answer  the  human  mind  is  capable 
of  making,  when  left  to  its  own  guidance,  and  its 
own  authority.  But  we  call  ourselves  Christians, 
and  profess  to  receive  the  Bible  as  the  directory 
of  our  faith ;  and  the  only  question  in  which  we 
are  concerned  is,  “  What  is  written  in  the  law ; 
how  readest  thou  ?” 

5.  But  there  is  a  way  of  escaping  from  this  con¬ 
clusion.  No  man  calling  himself  a  Christian,  will 
ever  disown,  in  words,  the  authority  of  the  Bible. 
Whatever  be  counted  the  genuine  interpretation, 
it  must  be  submitted  to.  But  in  the  act  of  com¬ 
ing  to  this  interpretation,  it  will  be  observed,  there 
is  room  for  the  unwarrantable  principles  which  we 
are  attempting  to  expose.  The  business  of  a 
scripture  critic  is  to  give  a  fair  representation  of 
the  sense  of  all  its  passages  as  they  exist  in  the 
original.  Now,  this  is  a  process  which  requires 
some  investigation;  and  it  is  during  the  time  that 
this  process  is  carrying  on,  that  the  tendencies  and 
antecedent  opinions  of  the  mind  are  suffered  to 
mislead  the  inquirer  from  the  true  principles  of  the 
business  in  which  he  is  employed.  The  mind  and 
meaning  of  the  author,  who  is  translated,  is  purely 


436 


ON  THE  SUPREME 


a  question  of  language,  and  should  be  decided 
upon  no  other  principles  than  those  of  grammar  or 
philology.  Now,  what  we  complain  of  is,  that 
while  this  principle  is  recognised  and  acted  upon 
in  every  other  composition  which  has  come  down 
to  us  from  antiquity,  it  has  been  most  glaringly 
departed  from  in  the  case  of  the  Bible :  That  the 
meaning  of  its  Author,  instead  of  being  made 
singly  and  entirely  a  question  of  grammar,  has 
been  made  a  question  of  metaphysics,  or  a  ques¬ 
tion  of  sentiment:  That  instead  of  the  argument 
resorted  to  being,  “such  must  be  the  rendering 
from  the  structure  of  the  language,  and  the  import 
and  significancy  of  its  phrases,”  it  has  been,  “  such 
must  be  the  rendering  from  the  analogy  of  the 
faith,  the  reason  of  the  thing,  the  character  of  the 
divine  mind,  and  the  wisdom  of  all  His  dispensa¬ 
tions.”  And  whether  this  argument  be  formally 
insisted  upon  or  not,  we  have  still  to  complain, 
that,  in  reality,  it  has  a  most  decided  influence  on 
the  understanding  of  many  a  Christian ;  and  in 
this  way,  the  creed  which  exists  in  his  mind,  in¬ 
stead  of  being  a  fair  transcript  of  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  is  the  result  of  a  compromise  which  has  been 
made  betwixt  its  authoritative  decisions  and  the 
speculations  of  his  own  fancy. 

6.  What  is  the  reason  why  there  is  so  much 
more  unanimity  among  critics  and  grammarians 
about  the  sense  of  any  ancient  author,  than  about 
the  sense  of  the  New  Testament?  Because  the  one 
is  made  purely  a  question  of  criticism :  The  other 
has  been  complicated  with  the  uncertain  fancies  of 
a  daring  and  presumptuous  theology.  Could  we 


AUTHORITY  OF  REVELATION. 


437 


rnlv  dismiss  these  fancies,  sit  down  like  a  school- 
hoy  to  his  task,  and  look  upon  the  study  of  divi¬ 
nity  as  a  mere  work  of  translation,  then  we  would 
expect  the  same  unanimity  among  Christians  that 
we  meet  with  among  scholars  and  literati,  about 
the  system  of  Epicurus  or  philosophy  of  Aristotle. 
But  here  lies  the  distinction  betwixt  the  two  cases. 
When  we  make  out,  by  a  critical  examination  of 
the  Greek  of  Aristotle,  that  such  was  his  meaning, 
and  such  his  philosophy,  the  result  carries  no 
authority  with  it,  and  our  mind  retains  the  con¬ 
genial  liberty  of  its  own  speculations.  But  if  we 
make  out,  bv  a  critical  examination  of  the  Greek  of 
St.  Paul,  that  such  is  the  theology  of  the  New 
Testament,  we  are  bound  to  submit  to  this  theo¬ 
logy  ;  and  our  mind  must  surrender  every  opinion, 
however  dear  to  it.  It  is  quite  in  vain  to  talk  of 
the  mysteriousness  of  the  subject,  as  being  the 
cause  of  the  want  of  unanimity  among  Christians. 
It  may  be  mysterious,  in  reference  to  bur  former 
conceptions.  It  may  be  mysterious  in  the  utter 
impossibility  of  reconciling  it  with  our  own  assumed 
fancies,  and  self-formed  principles.  It  may  be 
mysterious  in  the  difficulty  which  we  feel  in  com¬ 
prehending  the  manner  of  the  doctrine,  when  we 
ought  to  be  satisfied  with  the  authoritative  revela¬ 
tion  which  has  been  made  to  us  of  its  existence  and 
its  truth.  But  if  we  could  only  abandon  all  our 
former  conceptions,  if  we  felt  that  our  business 
was  to  submit  to  the  oracles  of  God,  and  that  we 
are  not  called  upon  to  effect  a  reconciliation  be¬ 
twixt  a  revealed  doctrine  of  the  Bible,  and  an 
assumed  or  excogitated  principle  of  our  own ; — then 


438 


ON'  THE  SUPREME 


we  are  satisfied,  that  we  would  find  the  language 
of  the  Testament  to  have  as  much  clear,  and  pre¬ 
cise,  and  didactic  simplicity,  as  the  language  of 
any  sage  or  philosopher  that  has  come  down  to  us. 

7.  Could  we  only  get  it  reduced  to  a  mere  ques¬ 
tion  of  language,  we  should  look  at  no  distant 
period  for  the  establishment  of  a  pure  and  unani¬ 
mous  Christianity  in  the  world.  But,  no  !  While 
tiie  mind  and  the  meaning  of  any  philosopher  is 
collected  from  his  words,  and  these  words  tried,  as 
to  their  import  and  significancy,  upon  the  appro¬ 
priate  principles  of  criticism,  the  mind  and  the 
meaning  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is  not  collected  upon 
the  same  pure  and  competent  principles  of  investi¬ 
gation.  In  order  to  know  the  mind  of  the  Spirit, 
the  communications  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  expres¬ 
sion  of  these  communications  in  written  language, 
should  be  consulted.  These  are  the  only  data 
upon  which  the  inquiry  should  be  instituted.  But, 
no  !  Instead  of  learning  the  designs  and  character 
of  the  Almighty  from  His  own  mouth,  we  sit  in 
judgment  upon  them,  and  make  our  conjecture  of 
what  they  should  be,  take  the  precedency  of  His 
revelation  of  what  they  are.  We  do  him  the  same 
injustice  that  we  do  to  an  acquaintance,  whose 
pioceedings  and  whose  intentions  we  venture  to 
pronounce  upon,  while  we  refuse  him  a  hearing, 
or  turn  awray  from  the  letter  in  which  he  explains 
himself.  No  wonder,  then,  at  the  want  of  unani¬ 
mity  among  Christians,  so  long  as  the  question  of 
What  thinkest  thou?”  is  made  the  principle  of 
their  creed,  and,  for  the  safe  guidance  of  criticism, 
they  have  committed  themselves  to  the  endless 


authority  of  revelation. 


439 


caprices  of  the  human  intellect.  Let  the  principle 
of  “  What  thinkest  thou  ?*’  be  exploded,  and  that 
of  “What  readest  thou?”  be  substituted  in  its 
place.  Let  us  take  our  lesson  as  the  Almighty 
places  it  before  us ;  and,  instead  of  being  the 
judge  of  his  conduct,  be  satisfied  with  the  safer 
and  humbler  office  of  being  the  interpreter  of  his 
language. 

8.  Now  this  principle  is  not  exclusively  appli¬ 
cable  to  the  learned.  The  great  bulk  of  Christians 
have  no  access  to  the  Bible  in  its  original  lan  - 
guages;  but  they  have  access  to  the  common 
translation,  and  they  may  be  satisfied,  by  the  con¬ 
current  testimony  of  the  learned  among  the  different 
sectaries  of  this  country,  that  the  translation  is  a 
good  one.  We  do  not  confine  the  principle  to 
critics  and  translators  ;  we  press  it  upon  all.  W  e 
call  upon  them  not  to  form  their  divinity  by  in¬ 
dependent  thinking,  but  to  receive  it  by  obedient 
reading ;  to  take  the  words  as  they  stand,  and 
submit  to  the  plain  English  of  the  scriptures  which 
lie  before  them.  It  is  the  office  of  a  translator  to 
give  a  faithful  representation  of  the  original.  Now 
that  this  faithful  representation  has  been  given,  it 
is  our  part  to  peruse  it  with  care,  and  to  take  a 
fair  and  a  faithful  impression  of  it.  It  is  our  part 
to  purify  our  understanding  of  all  its  previous  con¬ 
ceptions.  We  must  bring  a  free  and  unoccupied 
mind  to  the  exercise.  It  must  not  he  the  pride 
or  the  obstinacy  of  self-formed  opinions,  or  the 
haughty  independence  of  him  who  thinks  he  has 
reached  the  manhood  of  his  understanding.  We 
must  bring  with  us  the  docility  of  a  child,  if  wo 


440 


ON  THE  SUPREME 


want  to  gain  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  It  must  not 
be  a  partial,  but  an  entire  and  unexcepted  obedi¬ 
ence.  There  must  be  no  garbling  of  that  which 
is  entire ;  no  darkening  of  that  which  is  luminous ; 
no  softening  down  of  that  which  is  authoritative  or 
severe.  The  Bible  wrll  allow'  of  no  compromise. 
It  professes  to  be  the  directory  of  our  faith,  and 
claims  a  total  ascendancy  over  the  souls  and  the 
understandings  of  men.  It  will  enter  into  no 
composition  with  us,  or  our  natural  principles.  It 
challenges  the  whole  mind  as  its  due,  and  it  appeals 
to  the  truth  of  heaven  for  the  high  authority  of  its 
sanctions.  “  Whosoever  addeth  to,  or  taketh 
from,  the  words  of  this  book,  is  accursed,”  is  the 
absolute  language  in  which  it  delivers  itself.  This 
brings  us  to  its  terms.  There  is  no  way  of  escap¬ 
ing  after  this.  We  must  bring  every  thought  into 
the  captivity  of  its  obedience ;  and,  as  closely  as 
ever  lawyer  stuck  to  his  document  or  his  extract, 
must  we  abide  by  the  rule  and  the  doctrine  which 
this  authentic  memorial  of  God  sets  before  us. 

9.  Now  we  hazard  the  assertion,  that,  with  a 
number  of  professing  Christians,  there  is  not  this 
unexcepted  submission  of  the  understanding  to  the 
authority  of  the  Bible ;  and  that  the  authority  of 
the  Bible  is  often  modified,  and  in  some  cases 
superseded  by  the  authority  of  other  principles. 
One  of  these  principles  is  the  reason  of  the  thing. 
We  do  not  know  if  this  principle  would  be  at  all 
felt  or  appealed  to  by  the  earliest  Christians.  It 
may  perhaps  by  the  disputatious  or  the  philoso¬ 
phizing  among  converted  Jews  and  Greeks,  but 
not  certainly  by  those  of  whom  Paul,  said,  that 


AUTHORITY  OF  REVELATION. 


441 


‘‘not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not  many 
mighty,  not  many  noble,  were  called.”  They 
turned  from  dumb  idols  to  serve  the  living  and  the 
true  God.  There  was  nothing  in  their  antecedent 
theology  which  they  could  have  any  respect  for : 
Nothing  which  they  could  confront,  or  bring  into 
competition  with  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment.  In  those  days,  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus 
came  to  the  mind  of  its  disciples,  recommended  bv 
its  novelty  ;  by  its  grandeur ;  by  the  power  and 
recency  of  its  evidences;  and,  above  all,  by  its 
vast  and  evident  superiority  over  the  fooleries  of  a 
degrading  Paganism.  It  does  not  occur  to  us, 
that  men  in  these  circumstances  would  ever  think 
or  sitting  in  judgment  over  the  mysteries  of  that 
sublime  faith  which  had  charmed  them  into  an 
abandonment  of  their  earlier  religion.  It  rather 
strikes  us,  that  they  would  receive  them  passively ; 
that,  like  scholars  who  had  all  to  learn,  they  would 
take  their  lesson  as  they  found  it ;  that  the  informa¬ 
tion  of  their  teachers  would  be  enough  for  them; 
and  that  the  restless  tendency  of  the  human  mind 
to  speculation,  would  for  a  time  find  ample  enjoy¬ 
ment  in  the  rich  and  splendid  discoveries,  which 
broke  like  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  world.  But 
we  are  in  different  circumstances.  To  us,  these 
discoveries,  rich  and  splendid  as  they  are,  have 
lost  the  freshnesSof  novelty.  The  Sun  of  righteous¬ 
ness,  like  the  sun  in  the  firmament,  has  become 
familiarized  to  us  by  possession.  In  a  few  ages, 
the  human  mind  deserted  its  guidance,  and  rambled 
as  much  as  ever  in  quest  of  new  speculations.  It 
is  true,  that  they  took  a  juster  and  a  loftier  flight 

t  2 


442 


ON  THE  SUPREME 


since  the  days  of  Heathenism.  But  it  was  only 
because  they  walked  in  the  light  of  revelation. 
They  borrowed  of  the  New  Testament  without 
acknowledgment,  and  took  its  beauties  and  its 
truths  to  deck  their  own  wretched  fancies  and 
self-constituted  systems.  In  the  process  of  time, 
the  delusion  multiplied  and  extended.  Schools 
were  formed,  and  the  ways  of  the  Divinity  were 
as  confidently  theorized  upon,  as  the  processes  of 
chemistry,  or  the  economy  of  the  heavens.  Uni¬ 
versities  were  endowed,  and  Natural  Theology 
took  its  place  in  the  circle  of  the  sciences.  Folios 
were  written,  and  the  respected  luminaries  of  a 
former  age  poured  their  a  priori  and  their  a  pos¬ 
teriori  demonstrations  on  the  world.  Taste,  and 
sentiment,  and  imagination,  grew  apace  ;  and  every 
raw  untutored  principle  which  poetry  could  clothe 
in  prettiness,  or  over  which  the  hand  of  genius 
could  throw  the  graces  of  sensibility  and  elegance, 
was  erected  into  a  principle  of  the  divine  govern¬ 
ment,  and  made  to  preside  over  the  counsels  of 
the  Deity.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Bible,  which 
ought  to  supersede  all,  was  itself  superseded.  It 
was  quite  in  vain  to  say  that  it  was  the  only 
authentic  record  of  an  actual  embassy  wrhich  God 
had  sent  into  the  world.  It  was  quite  in  vain  to 
plead  its  testimonies,  its  miracles,  and  the  un¬ 
questionable  fulfilment  of  its  prophecies.  These 
mighty  claims  must  lie  over,  and  be  suspended, 
till  we  have  settled — what  ?  the  reasonableness  of 
its  doctrines.  We  must  bring  the  theology  of 
God’s  ambassador  to  the  bar  of  our  self-formed 
theology.  The  Bible,  instead  of  being  admitted 


authority  of  revelation. 


443 


jis  the  directory  of  our  faith  upon  its  external 
evidences,  must  be  tried  upon  the  merits  of  the 
work  itself ;  and  if  our  verdict  be  fa\  ourable,^  it 
must  be  brought  in,  not  as  a  help  to  our  ignorance, 
but  as  a  corollary  to  our  demonstrations.  But  is 
this  ever  done  ?  Yes  !  by  Dr.  Samuel  Clarke,  and 
a  whole  host  of  followers  and  admirers.  Their 
first  step  in  the  process  of  theological  study  is  to 
furnish  their  minds  with  the  principles  oi  natural 
theology.  Christianity,  before  its  external  proofs 
are  looked  at  or  listened  to,  must  be  bi  ought 
under  the  tribunal  of  these  principles.  All  the 
difficulties  which  attach  to  the  reason  of  the  thing, 
or  the  fitness  of  the  doctrines,  must  be  formally 
discussed,  and  satisfactorily  got  over.  A  voice 
was  heard  from  heaven,  saying  of  Jesus  Chiist, 
“  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  hear  ye  him.”  The 
men  of  Galilee  saw  Him  ascend  from  the  dead  to 
the  heaven  which  He  now  occupies.  The  men 
of  Galilee  gave  their  testimony ;  and  it  is  a  testi¬ 
mony  which  stood  the  fiery  trial  of  persecution  in 
a  former  age,  and  of  sophistry  in  this.  And  yet, 
instead  of  hearing  Jesus  Christ  as  disciples,  they 
sit  in  authority  over  Him  as  judges.  Instead  of 
forming  their  divinity  after  the  Bible,  they  try  the 
Bible  by  their  antecedent  divinity  ;  and  this  book, 
with  all  its  mighty  train  of  evidences,  must  drivel 
in  their  antichambers,  till  they  have  pronounced 
sentence  of  admission,  when  they  have  got  its 
doctrines  to  agree  with  their  own  airy  and  unsub¬ 
stantial  speculations. 

10.  We  do  not  condemn  the  exercise  of  reason 
in  matters  of  theology.  It  is  the  part  of  reason 


44  4 


ON  THE  SUPE EM E 


to  form  its  conclusions,  when  it  has  data  and  evi¬ 
dences  before  it.  But  it  is  equally  the  part  of 
reason  to  abstain  from  its  conclusions,  when  these 
evidences  are  wanting.  Reason  can  judge  of  the 
external  evidences  for  Christianity,  because  it  can 
discern  the  merits  of  human  testimony  ;  and  it  can 
perceive  the  truth  or  the  falsehood  of  such  obvious 
credentials  as  the  performance  of  a  miracle,  or  the 
fulfilment  of  a  prophecy,  or  the  marvellous  agree¬ 
ments  between  the  subject-matter  of  revelation,  and 
previously  or  distinctly  known  truth.  But  one  of 
the  most  useful  exercises  of  reason  is,  to  ascertain 
its  limits,  and  to  keep  within  them ;  to  abandon 
the  field  of  conjecture,  and  to  restrain  itself  within 
that  safe  and  certain  barrier  which  forms  the 
boundary  of  human  experience.  However  humi¬ 
liating  we  may  conceive  it,  it  is  this  which  lies  at 
the  bottom  of  Lord  Bacon’s  philosophy  ;  and  it  is 
to  this  that  modern  science  is  indebted  for  all  her 
solidity,  and  all  her  triumphs.  Why  does  philoso¬ 
phy  flourish  in  our  days  ?  Because  her  votaries 
have  learned  to  abandon  their  own  creative  specu¬ 
lations,  and  to  submit  to  evidence,  let  her  conclu¬ 
sions  be  as  painful  and  as  unpalatable  as  they  will. 
Now  all  that  we  want,  is  to  carry  the  same  lesson 
and  the  same  principle  into  theology.  Our  busi¬ 
ness  is  not  to  guess,  but  to  learn.  After  we  have 
established  Christianity  to  be  an  authentic  message 
from  God  upon  those  historical  and  experimental 
grounds,  on  which  the  reason  and  experience  of 
man  entitle  him  to  form  his  conclusions,  nothing 
remains  for  us  but  an  unconditional  surrender  of 
the  mind  to  the  subject  of  the  message.  W’e  have 


AUTHORITY  OF  REVELATION. 


445 


a  right  to  sit  in  judgment  over  the  credentials 
of  heaven’s  ambassador;  but  we  have  no  right 
to  sit  in  judgment  over  the  information  he  gives 
us.  We  have  no  right  either  to  refuse  or  to  mo¬ 
dify  that  information,  till  we  have  accommodated 
it  to  our  previous  conceptions.  It  is  very  true, 
that  if  the  truths  which  he  delivered  lay  within  the 
field  of  human  observation,  he  brings  himself  under 
the  tribunal  of  our  antecedent  knowledge.  Were 
he  to  tell  us  that  the  bodies  of  the  planetary 


system  moved  in  orbits  which  are  purely  circular, 
we  would  oppose  to  him  the  observations  and 
measurements  of  astronomy.  Were  he  to  tell  us, 
that  in  winter  the  sun  never  shone,  and  that  in 
summer  no  cloud  ever  darkened  the  brilliancy  of 
his  career ;  we  w  ould  oppose  to  him  the  certain 
remembrances,  both  of  ourselves  and  of  our  whole 
neighbourhood.  Were  he  to  tell  us,  that  we  were 
perfect  men,  because  we  were  free  from  passion, 
and  loved  our  neighbours  as  ourselves ;  we  would 
oppose  to  him  the  history  of  our  own  lives,  and 
the  deeply-seated  consciousness  of  our  ow  n  infirmi¬ 
ties.  On  all  these  subjects  we  can  confront  him. 
But  when  he  brings  truth  from  a  quarter  which 
no  human  eye  ever  explored  ;  when  he  tells  us  the 
mind  of  the  Deity,  and  brings  before  us  the  coun¬ 
sels  of  that  invisible  Being,  whose  arm  is  abroad 
upon  all  worlds,  and  whose  view  s  reach  to  eternity, 
he  is  beyond  the  ken  of  eye  or  of  telescope,  and 
we  must  submit  to  him.  We  have  no  more  right 
to  sit  in  judgment  over  his  information,  than  we 
have  to  sit,  in  judgment  over  the  information  of 
am  ether  \isitcr  who  lights  up<  n  our  planet  from 


446 


ON  THE  SUPREME 


some  distant* and  unknown  part  of  the  universe, 
and  tells  us  what  worlds  roll  in  those  remote  tracts 
which  are  beyond  the  limits  of  our  astronomy, 
and  how  the  Divinity  peoples  them  with  His  won¬ 
ders.  Any  previous  conceptions  of  ours  are  of 
no  more  value  than  the  fooleries  of  an  infant ;  and 
should  we  offer  to  resist  or  to  modify  upon  the 
strength  of  these  conceptions,  we  would  be  as 
unsound  and  as  unphilosophical  as  ever  school¬ 
man  was  with  his  categories,  or  Cartesian  with  his 
whirlpools  of  ether. 

11.  Let  us  go  back  to  the  first  Christians  of 
the  Gentile  world.  They  turned  from  dumb  idols 
to  serve  the  living  and  the  true  God.  They 
made  a  simple  and  entire  transition  from  a  state 
as  bad,  if  not  worse,  than  that  of  entire  ignorance, 
to  the  Christianity  of  the  New  Testament.  Their 
previous  conceptions,  instead  of  helping  them, 
behoved  to  be  utterly  abandoned;  nor  was  there 
that  intermediate  step  which  so  many  of  us  think 
to  be  necessary,  and  which  we  dignify  with  the 
name  of  the  rational  theology  of  nature.  In  those 
days  this  rational  theology  was  unheard  of;  nor 
have  we  the  slightest  reason  to  believe,  that  they 
were  ever  initiated  into  its  doctrines,  before  they 
were  looked  upon  as  fit  to  be  taught  the  peculi¬ 
arities  of  the  Gospel.  They  were  translated  at 
once  from  the  absurdities  of  Paganism  to  that 
Christianity  which  has  come  down  to  us,  in  the 
records  of  the  evangelical  history,  and  the  epistles 
which  their  teachers  addressed  to  them.  They 
saw  the  miracles;  they  acquiesced  in  them,  as 
satisfying  credentials  of  an  inspired  teacher;  they 


AUTHORITY  OF  REVELATION. 


447 


took  the  whole  of  their  religion  from  his  mouth ; 
their  faith  came  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the 
words  of  a  divine  messenger.  This  was  their 
process,  and  it  ought  to  be  ours.  We  do  not  see 
the  miracles,  but  we  see  their  reality  through  the 
medium  of  that  clear  and  unsuspicious  testimony 
which  has  been  handed  down  to  us.  We  should 
admit  them  as  the  credentials  of  an  embassy 
from  God.  We  should  take  the  whole  of  our 
religion  from  the  records  of  this  embassy ;  and, 
renouncing  the  idolatry  of  our  own  self-formed 
conceptions,  we  should  repair  to.  that  word,  which 
was  spoken  to  them  that  heard  it,  and  transmitted 
to  us  by  the  instrumentality  of  written  language. 
The  question  with  them  was,  What  hearest  thou  ? 
The  question  with  us  is,  What  readest  thou  ? 
They  had  their  idols,  and  they  turned  away  from 
them.  We  have  our  fancies ;  and  we  contend, 
that,  in  the  face  of  an  authoritative  revelation  from 
heaven,  it  is  as  glaring  idolatry  in  us  to  adhere  to 
them,  as  it  would  be  were  they  spread  out  upon 
canvass,  or  chiselled  into  material  form  by  the 
hands  of  a  statuary. 

12.  In  the  popular  religions  of  antiquity,  we 
see  scarcely  the  vestige  of  a  resemblance  to  that 
academical  theism  which  is  delivered  in  our  schools, 
and  figures  away  in  the  speculations  of  our  moral¬ 
ists.  The  process  of  conversion  among  the  first 
Christians  was  a  very  simple  one.  It  consisted  of  an 
utter  abandonment  of  their  heathenism,  and  an 
entire  submission  to  those  new  truths  which  came 
to  them  through  the  revelation  of  the  Gospel,  and 
through  it  only.  It  was  the  pure  theology  of 


448 


ON  THE  SUPREME 


Christ  and  of  His  Apostles.  That  theology  which 
struts  in  fancied  demonstration  from  a  professor’s 
chair,  formed  no  part  of  it.  They  listened  as  if 
they  had  all  to  learn :  we  listen  as  if  it  was  our 
office  to  judge,  and  to  give  the  message  of  God  its 
due  place  and  subordination  among  the  principles 
which  we  had  previously  established.  Now  these 
principles  were  utterly  unknown  at  the  first  publi¬ 
cation  of  Christianity.  The  Galatians,  and  Cor¬ 
inthians,  and  Thessalonians,  and  Philippians,  had 
no  conception  of  them.  And  yet,  will  any  man 
say,  that  either  Paul  himself,  or  those  who  lived 
under  his  immediate  tuition,  had  not  enough  to 
make  them  accomplished  Christians,  or  that  they 
fell  short  of  our  enlightened  selves,  in  the  wisdom 
which  prepares  for  eternity,  because  they  wanted 
our  rational  theology  as  a  stepping-stone  to  that 
knowledge  which  came,  in  pure  and  immediate 
revelation,  from  the  Son  of  God  ?  The  Gospel 
was  enough  for  them,  and  it  should  be  enough  for 
us  also.  Every  natural  or  assumed  principle, 
which  offers  to  abridge  its  supremacy,  or  even  so 
much  as  to  share  with  it  in  authority  and  direction, 
should  be  instantly  discarded.  Every  opinion  in 
religion  should  be  reduced  to  the  question  of, 
\\  hat  readest  thou  ?  and  the  Bible  be  acquiesced 
in,  and  submitted  to,  as  the  alone  directory  of  our 
faith,  where  we  can  get  the  whole  will  of  God  for 
the  salvation  of  man. 

13.  But  is  not  this  an  enlightened  age  ?  and, 
since  the  days  of  the  Gospel,  has  not  the  w  isdom 
of  two  thousand  years  accumulated  upon  the  pre¬ 
sent  generation  ?  Has  not  science  been  enriched 


AUTHORITY  OF  REVELATION.  449 

by  discovery?  and  is  not  theology  one  of  the 
sciences  ?  Are  the  men  of  this  advanced  period 
to  be  restrained  from  the  high  exercise  of  their 
powers  ?  and  because  the  men  of  a  remote  and  bar¬ 
barous  antiquity  lisped  and  drivelled  in  the  infancy 
of  their  acquirements,  is  that  any  reason  why  we 
should  be  restricted,  like  so  many  school-boys,  to 
the  lesson  that  is  set  before  us?  It  is  all  true,  that 
this  is  a  very  enlightened  age ;  but  on  what  field  has 
it  acquired  so  flattering  a  distinction?  On  the 
field  of  experiment.  The  human  mind  owes  all  its 
progress  to  the  confinement  of  its  efforts  within 
the  safe  and  certain  limits  of  observation,  and  to 
the  severe  restraint  which  it  has  imposed  upon  its 
speculative  tendencies.  Go  beyond  these  limits, 
and  the  human  mind  has  not  advanced  a  single 
inch  by  its  own  independent  exercises.  All  the 
philosophy  which  has  been  reared  by  the  labour  of 
successive  ages,  is  the  philosophy  of  facts  reduced 
to  general  laws,  or  brought  under  a  general  de¬ 
scription  from  observed  points  of  resemblance.  A 
proud  and  a  wonderful  fabric  we  do  allow ;  but 
we  throw  away  the  very  instrument  by  which  it 
was  built,  the  moment  that  we  cease  to  observe, 
and  begin  to  theorize  and  excogitate.  Tell  us  a 
single  discovery,  which  has  thrown  a  particle  of 
light  on  the  details  of  the  divine  administration. 
Tell  us  a  single  truth  in  the  w7hoie  field  of  experi¬ 
mental  science,  w  hich  can  bring  us  to  the  moral 
government  of  the  Almighty  by  any  other  road 
than  His  own  revelation.  Astronomy  has  taken 
millions  of  suns  and  of  systems  within  its  ample 
domain ;  but  the  ways  of  God  to  man  stand  at  a 


450 


ON  THE  SUPREME 


distance  as  inaccessible  as  ever ;  nor  has  it  shed 
so  much  as  a  glimmering  over  the  counsels  of  that 
mighty  and  invisible  Being,  who  sits  in  high  autho¬ 
rity  over  all  worlds.  The  boasted  discoveries  of 
modern  science  are  all  confined  to  that  field,  within 
which  the  senses  of  man  can  expatiate.  The 
moment  we  go  beyond  this  field,  they  cease  to  be 
discoveries,  and  are  the  mere  speculations  of  the 
fancy.  The  discoveries  of  modern  science  have, 
in  fact,  imparted  a  new  energy  to  the  sentiment  in 
question.  They  all  serve  to  exalt  the  Deity,  but 
they  do  not  contribute  a  single  iota  to  the  explana¬ 
tion  of  His  purposes.  They  make  him  greater, 
but  they  do  not  make  him  more  comprehensible. 
He  is  more  shrouded  in  mystery  than  ever.  It  is 
not  Himself  whom  we  see,  it  is  His  workmanship; 
and  every  new  addition  to  its  grandeur  or  to  its 
variety,  which  philosophy  opens  to  our  contempla¬ 
tion,  throws  our  understanding  at  a  greater  distance 
than  before,  from  the  mind  and  conception  of 'the 
sublime  Architect.  Instead  of  the  God  of  a  single 
world,  we  now  see  Him  presiding,  in  all  the 
majesty  of  His  high  attributes,  over  a  mighty 
range  of  innumerable  systems.  To  our  little  eye 
He  is  wrapt  in  more  awful  mysteriousness ;  and 
every  new  glimpse  which  astronomy  gives  us  of  the 
universe,  magnifies,  to  the  apprehension  of  our 
mind,  that  impassable  barrier  which  stands  between 
the  counsels  of  its  Sovereign,  and  those  fugitive 
beings  who  strut  their  evanescent  hour  in  the 
humblest  of  its  mansions.  If  this  invisible  being 
would  only  break  that  mysterious  silence  in  which 
He  hag  wrapt  Himself,  we  feel  that  a  single  w  ord 


AUTHORITY  OF  REVELATION. 


451 


from  his  mouth  would  be  worth  a  world  of  dark¬ 
ling  speculations.  Every  new  triumph  which  the 
mind  of  man  achieves  in  the  field  of  discovery, 
binds  us  more  firmly  to  our  Bible  ;  and  by  the  very 
proportion  in  which  philosophy  multiplies  the 
wonders  of  God,  do  we  prize  that  book,  on  which 
the  evidence  of  history  has  stamped  the  character 
of  His  authentic  communication. 

14.  The  course  of  the  moon  in  the  heavens  has 
exercised  astronomers  for  a  long  series  of  ages ; 
and  now  that  they  are  able  to  assign  all  the 
irregularities  of  its  period,  it  may  be  counted  one 
of  the  most  signal  triumphs  of  the  modern  philoso¬ 
phy.  The  question  lay  within  the  limits  of  the 
field  of  observation.  It  was  accessible  to  measure¬ 
ment  ;  and,  upon  the  sure  principles  of  calculation, 
men  of  science  have  brought  forward  the  confident 
solution  of  a  problem,  the  most  difficult  and  trying 
that  ever  was  submitted  to  the  human  intellect. 
But  let  it  never  be  forgotten,  that  those  very 
maxims  of  philosophy  which  guided  them  so  surely 
and  so  triumphantly  within  the  field  of  observa¬ 
tion,  also  restrained  them  from  stepping  beyond 
it;  and  though  none  were  more  confident  than 
they  whenever  they  had  evidence  and  experiment 
to  enlighten  them,  yet  none  were  more  scrupulous 
in  abstaining  to  pronounce  upon  any  subject, 
where  evidence  and  experiment  were  wanting. 
Let  us  suppose  that  one  of  their  number,  flushed 
with  the  triumph  of  success,  passed  on  from  the 
work  of  calculating  the  periods  of  the  moon,  to 
theorize  upon  its  chemical  constitution.  The 
former  question  lies  within  the  field  of  observa- 


452 


ON  THE  SUPRExME 


tion,  the  other  is  most  thoroughly  beyond  it ;  and 
there  is  not  a  man,  whose  mind  is  disciplined  to 
the  rigour  and  sobriety  of  modern  science,  that 
would  not  look  upon  the  theory  with  the  same 
contempt  as  if  it  were  the  dream  of  a  poet,  or  the 
amusement  of  a  schoolboy.  We  have  heard  much 
of  the  moon,  and  of  the  volcanoes  which  blaze 
upon  its  surface.  Let  us  have  incontestable  evi¬ 
dence  that  a  falling  stone  proceeds  from  the  erup¬ 
tion  of  one  of  these  volcanoes,  and  the  chemistry 
of  the  moon  will  receive  more  illustration  from  the 
analysis  of  that  stone,  than  from  all  the  specula¬ 
tions  of  all  the  theorists.  It  brings  the  question 
in  part  within  the  limits  of  observation.  It  now 
becomes  a  fair  subject  for  the  exercise  of  the  true 
philosophy.  The  eye  can  now  see,  and  the  hand 
can  now  handle  it ;  and  the  information  furnished 
by  the  laborious  drudgery  of  experimental  men, 
will  be  received  as  a  truer  document,  than  the 
theory  of  any  philosopher,  however  ingenious,  or 
however  splendid. 

15.  At  the  hazard  of  being  counted  fanciful,  we 
bring  forward  the  above  as  a  competent  illustra¬ 
tion  of  the  principle  which  we  are  attempting  to 
establish.  We  do  all  homage  to  modern  science, 
nor  do  we  dispute  the  loftiness  of  its  pretensions. 
But  we  maintain,  that  however  brilliant  its  career 
in  those  tracts  of  philosophy,  where  it  has  the 
light  of  observation  to  conduct  it,  the  philosophy 
of  all  that  lies  without  the  field  of  observation  is  as 
obscure  and  inaccessible  as  ever.  We  maintain, 
that  to  pass  from  the  motions  of  the  moon  to  an 
unauthorized  speculation  upon  the  chemistry  of  its 


AUTHORITY  OF  REVELATION. 


453 


materials,  is  a  presumption  disowned  by  philosophy. 
We  ought  to  feel,  that  it  would  be  a  still  more  glaring 
transgression  of  all  her  maxims,  to  pass  from  the 
brightest  discovery  in  her  catalogue,  to  the  ways  of 
that  mysteriou^Being,whom  no  eye  hath  seen,  and 
whose  mind  is  capacious  as  infinity.  The  splen¬ 
dour  and  the  magnitude  of  what  we  do  know,  can 
never  authorize  us  to  pronounce  upon  what  we  do 
not  know;  nor  can  we  conceive  a  transition  more  vio¬ 
lent  or  more  unwarrantable,  than  to  pass  from  the 
truths  of  natural  science  to  a  speculation  on  the 
details  of  God’s  administration,  or  the  economy  of 
His  moral  government.  We  hear  much  of  revela¬ 
tions  from  heaven.  Let  any  one  of  these  bear  the 
evidence  of  an  actual  communication  from  God 
himself ;  and  all  the  reasonings  of  all  the  theolo¬ 
gians  must  vanish,  and  give  place  to  the  substance 
of  this  communication.  Instead  of  theorizing  upon 
the  nature  and  properties  of  that  divine  light  which 
irradiates  the  throne  of  God,  and  exists  at  so  im¬ 
measurable  a  distance  from  our  faculties,  let  us 
point  our  eyes  to  that  emanation,  which  has  actually 
come  down  to  us.  Instead  of  theorizing  upon  the 
counsels  of  the  divine  mind,  let  us  go  to  that  Volume 
which  lighted  upon  our  world  nearly  two  thousand 
years  ago,  and  which  bears  the  most  authentic 
evidence,  that  it  is  the  depository  of  part  of  these 
counsels.  Let  us  apply  the  proper  instrument  to 
this  examination.  Let  us  never  conceive  it  to  be 
a  work  of  speculation  or  fancy.  It  is  a  pure  work 
of  grammatical  analysis.  It  is  an  unmixed  ques¬ 
tion  of  language.  The  commentator  who  opens 
thisBook  with  the  one  hand,  and  carries  his  system 


454 


ON  THE  SUPREME 


in  the  other,  has  nothing  to  do  with  it.  We  admit 
of  no  other  instrument  than  the  vocabulary  and 
the  lexicon.  The  man  whom  we  look  to  is  the 
scripture  critic,  who  can  appeal  to  his  authorities 
for  the  import  and  significancy  of^phrases  ;  and 
whatever  be  the  strict  result  of  his  patient  and 
profound  philology,  we  submit  to  it.  We  call  upon 
every  enlightened  disciple  of  Lord  Bacon  to  ap¬ 
prove  the  steps  of  this  process,  and  to  acknow 
ledge,  that  the  same  habits  of  philosophising  to 
which  science  is  indebted  for  all  her  elevation  in 
these  later  days,  will  lead  us  to  cast  down  all  our 
lofty  imaginations,  and  bring  into  captivity  every 
thought  to  the  obedience  of  Christ. 

16.  But  something  more  remains  to  be  done. 
The  mind  may  have  discernment  enough  to  ac¬ 
quiesce  in  the  speculative  justness  of  a  principle  ; 
but  it  may  not  have  vigour  or  consistency  enough 
to  put  it  into  execution.  Lord  Bacon  pointed 
out  the  method  of  true  philosophising ;  yet,  in 
practice,  he  abandoned  it,  and  his  own  physical 
investigations  may  be  ranked  among  the  most 
effectual  specimens  of  that  rash  and  unfounded 
theorizing,  which  his  own  principles  have  banished 
frQm  the  schools  of  philosophy.  Sir  Isaac  Newton 
completed,  in  his  own  person,  the  character  of  the 
true  philosopher.  He  not  only  saw  the  general 
principle,  but  he  obeyed  it.  He  both  betook  him¬ 
self  to  the  drudgery  of  observation,  and  he  endured 
the  pain  which  every  mind  must  suffer  in  the  act 
of  renouncing  its  old  habits  of  conception.  We 
call  upon  our  readers  to  have  manhood  and  philo¬ 
sophy  enough  to  make  a  similar  sacrifice.  It  is 


I 


AUTHORITY  OF  REVELATION.  455 

not  enough  that  the  Bible  be  acknowledged  as  the 
only  autnentic  source  of  information  respecting  the 
details  of  that  moral  economy,  which  the  Supreme 
Being  has  instituted  for  the  government  of  the 
intelligent  beings  who  occupy  this  globe.  Its  au¬ 
thenticity  must  be  something  more  than  acknow¬ 
ledged.  It  must  be  felt,  and,  in  act  and  obedience, 
submitted  to.  Let  us  put  them  to  the  test. 
“  Verily  I  say  unto  you,”  says  our  Saviour,  “  un¬ 
less  a  man  shall  be  born  again,  he  shall  not  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God.”  “  By  grace  ye  are 
saved  through  faith,  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it 
is  the  gift  of  God.”  “Justified  freely  by  his 
grace,  through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ 
Jesus,  whom  God  has  set  forth  to  be  a  propitia¬ 
tion  through  faith  in  his  blood.”  We  need  not 
multiply  quotations ;  but  if  there  be  any  repiu? 
nance  to  the  obvious  truths  which  we  have  an¬ 
nounced  to  the  reader  in  the  language  of  the 
Bible,  his  mind  is  not  yet  tutored  to  the  philosophy 
of  the  subject.  It  may  be  in  the  way,  but  the 
final  result  is  not  yet  arrived  at.  It  is  still  a  slave 
to  the  elegance  or  the  plausibility  of  its  old  specula¬ 
tions;  and,  though  it  admits  the  principle,  that 
every  previous  opinion  must  give  way  to  the  supreme 
authority  of  an  actual  communication  from  God,  it 
wants  consistency  and  hardihood  to  carry  the 
principle  into  accomplishment. 


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